Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Raises Holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 394,813 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,014 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned approximately 0.18% of Cheniere Energy worth $84,833,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aldebaran Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 26.1% during the third quarter. Aldebaran Financial Inc. now owns 5,195 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $934,000 after acquiring an additional 1,076 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Cheniere Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $225,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Cheniere Energy in the third quarter valued at $159,000. Castellan Group acquired a new position in Cheniere Energy in the third quarter valued at $5,515,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 75.3% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 533 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheniere Energy

In other Cheniere Energy news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of Cheniere Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.51, for a total value of $1,975,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 33,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,448,852.34. The trade was a 20.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Cheniere Energy Stock Up 1.8 %

LNG stock opened at $231.52 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $220.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $214.90. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $153.03 and a 12 month high of $257.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.59 billion, a PE ratio of 16.27 and a beta of 0.67.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The energy company reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $1.59. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 37.19% and a net margin of 20.71%. The firm had revenue of $4.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. Equities analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is 14.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LNG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays lifted their target price on Cheniere Energy from $202.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Mizuho upped their price target on Cheniere Energy from $248.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $242.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $237.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $245.77.

Cheniere Energy 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.