National Pension Service Increases Stock Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

National Pension Service raised its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 2.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 596,962 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 12,853 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $139,707,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of LNG. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the third quarter worth $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 473.7% during the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 109 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank bought a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:LNG opened at $211.57 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $199.32 and a 200-day moving average of $218.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $186.20 and a 1 year high of $246.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.65 and a beta of 0.26.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The energy company reported $4.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $2.00. The company had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.87 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 21.12%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.93 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be given a dividend of $0.555 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is currently 12.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on LNG shares. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $254.00 target price on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $282.00 to $271.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup lowered their price target on Cheniere Energy from $283.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $266.00 target price on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $220.00 target price on Cheniere Energy and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $264.24.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheniere Energy

In other Cheniere Energy news, Director W Benjamin Moreland acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $208.22 per share, for a total transaction of $1,041,100.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 9,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,052,216.32. This represents a 102.97% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Cheniere Energy

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.