Bessemer Group Inc. Buys 1,359 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,378 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 1,359 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $8,032,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Martingale Asset Management L P lifted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 98,926 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $21,256,000 after purchasing an additional 17,158 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC increased its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 17,940 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $3,855,000 after buying an additional 2,445 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in Cheniere Energy by 54.5% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 765,953 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $164,580,000 after acquiring an additional 270,105 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 16.1% during the 4th 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. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $69,000. 87.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LNG opened at $220.23 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $49.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.48 and a beta of 0.67. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $219.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $213.47. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $152.88 and a fifty-two week high of $257.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The energy company reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $1.59. The business had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 37.19%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $277.00 target price on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $242.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Cheniere Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $237.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $239.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cheniere Energy news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 $7,448,852.34. This trade represents a 20.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.