Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) Shares Bought by BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 258,529 shares of the energy company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,126 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp owned about 0.12% of Cheniere Energy worth $55,501,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $629,197,000. Ninety One UK Ltd grew its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 1,400.7% in the 4th quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 1,509,717 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $324,393,000 after buying an additional 1,409,116 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 84.6% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,651,500 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $354,858,000 after buying an additional 756,900 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in Cheniere Energy by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,664,439 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $357,638,000 after acquiring an additional 631,787 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $130,772,000. 87.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LNG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $277.00 price target on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Wolfe Research lowered Cheniere Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Cheniere Energy from $252.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $248.00 to $254.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Cheniere Energy from $254.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cheniere Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $252.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cheniere Energy news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.51, for a total value of $1,975,590.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 33,934 shares in the company, valued at $7,448,852.34. This represents a 20.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of LNG opened at $232.75 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.07. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $227.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $222.35. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $153.03 and a 52 week high of $257.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.36 and a beta of 0.41.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The energy company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.81 by ($1.24). Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 37.19%. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 19th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.63%.

About Cheniere Energy

Cheniere Energy, Inc, an energy infrastructure company, primarily engages in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) related businesses in the United States. It owns and operates the Sabine Pass LNG terminal in Cameron Parish, Louisiana; and the Corpus Christi LNG terminal near Corpus Christi, Texas. The company also owns Creole Trail pipeline, a 94-mile natural gas supply pipeline that interconnects the Sabine Pass LNG Terminal with several interstate and intrastate pipelines; and operates Corpus Christi pipeline, a 21.5-mile natural gas supply pipeline that interconnects the Corpus Christi LNG terminal with various interstate and intrastate natural gas pipelines.