Wesbanco Bank Inc. Grows Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 135.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,103 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,360 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $1,164,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter worth $731,774,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 555.0% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 810,138 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $157,483,000 after acquiring an additional 686,459 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Cheniere Energy by 518.8% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 577,533 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $112,267,000 after acquiring an additional 484,198 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Cheniere Energy by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,219,557 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $4,124,870,000 after acquiring an additional 414,022 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Cheniere Energy by 3,902.4% during the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 389,676 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $75,749,000 after acquiring an additional 379,940 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on LNG shares. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $286.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. UBS Group set a $290.00 target price on Cheniere Energy in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $297.71.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

Shares of LNG opened at $241.71 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $243.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $233.22. The company has a market capitalization of $50.65 billion and a P/E ratio of 39.75. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $186.20 and a fifty-two week high of $300.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.57.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported ($16.65) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.25 by ($20.90). Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 7.23% and a return on equity of 38.95%. The company had revenue of $5.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 14.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.555 per share. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.51%.

Cheniere Energy Company Profile

Cheniere Energy, Inc is a U.S.-based energy company that develops, owns and operates liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure and markets LNG to global customers. The company’s core activities include natural gas liquefaction, long?term and short?term LNG sales and marketing, and the associated midstream services required to move gas from production basins to international markets. Cheniere focuses on converting domestic natural gas into LNG for export, providing a bridge between North American supply and overseas demand.

Cheniere’s principal operating assets are large-scale LNG export terminals located on the U.S.