Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. Takes Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. acquired a new position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 3,119 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $670,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNG. Vident Advisory LLC grew its position in Cheniere Energy by 433.7% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 21,347 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $4,587,000 after acquiring an additional 17,347 shares in the last quarter. Twinbeech Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $32,457,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 84.6% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,651,500 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $354,858,000 after purchasing an additional 756,900 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its position in Cheniere Energy by 31.6% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,080,666 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $232,203,000 after buying an additional 259,565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Texas Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $335,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on LNG shares. Argus initiated coverage on Cheniere Energy in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $255.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com cut Cheniere Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Cheniere Energy from $255.00 to $247.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $248.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $277.00 price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $252.23.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:LNG opened at $229.34 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $227.57 and its 200-day moving average is $222.40. The company has a market cap of $50.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.12 and a beta of 0.41. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $153.03 and a 52-week high of $257.65.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 37.19%. The company’s revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 19th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is 14.63%.

Insider Activity at Cheniere Energy

In related news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 33,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,448,852.34. The trade was a 20.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.