Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Boosts Holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 10.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 95,632 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,944 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $20,548,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LNG. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 170.5% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 119 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 24.3% in the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,319 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $498,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 129,465 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $27,818,000 after purchasing an additional 8,996 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 7,829 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,682,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $335,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cheniere Energy news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 33,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,448,852.34. This trade represents a 20.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LNG opened at $229.13 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $227.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $223.10. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $153.03 and a 12 month high of $257.65. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $50.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.10 and a beta of 0.41.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The energy company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.81 by ($1.24). Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 37.19% and a net margin of 20.71%. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is currently 14.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LNG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective 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. Argus initiated coverage on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $255.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $252.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $255.00 to $247.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Cheniere Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $252.23.

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.