Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC Decreases Stock Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC lowered its position in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,765 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 318 shares during the period. Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $2,958,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Cheniere Energy by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,681,846 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,220,858,000 after buying an additional 243,418 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,126,512 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $886,664,000 after acquiring an additional 379,142 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,237,303 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $695,599,000 after acquiring an additional 450,031 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $629,197,000. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,696,002 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $606,907,000 after purchasing an additional 448,189 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LNG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $252.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Cheniere Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $248.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Argus initiated coverage on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $255.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $252.23.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.51, for a total transaction of $1,975,590.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 33,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,448,852.34. This represents a 20.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

LNG opened at $229.34 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $227.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $222.40. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $153.03 and a fifty-two week high of $257.65. The firm has a market cap of $50.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.12 and a beta of 0.41.

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

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is 14.63%.

Cheniere Energy Company Profile

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.