Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) Stake Increased by Scotia Capital Inc.

Scotia Capital Inc. boosted its position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,831 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 837 shares during the quarter. Scotia Capital Inc.’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $6,195,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Cheniere Energy by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 37,378 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $8,032,000 after acquiring an additional 1,359 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P raised its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 98,926 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $21,256,000 after purchasing an additional 17,158 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC raised its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 17,940 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $3,855,000 after buying an additional 2,445 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 270,105 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,237,303 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $695,599,000 after buying an additional 450,031 shares during the period. 87.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Cheniere Energy

In other Cheniere Energy news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of the 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 sale, the director now owns 33,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,448,852.34. This represents a 20.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

LNG opened at $220.23 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $49.26 billion, a PE ratio of 15.48 and a beta of 0.67. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $152.88 and a 1 year high of $257.65. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $219.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $213.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The energy company reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $1.59. The firm had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 37.19%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current 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 given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on LNG shares. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $202.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $242.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Cheniere Energy from $213.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Cheniere Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.79.

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.