National Pension Service Acquires 12,853 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 596,962 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 12,853 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.27% of Cheniere Energy worth $139,707,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $335,000. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 18.3% in the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,056 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $744,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the second quarter valued at about $218,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 5.2% in the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 39,662 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $9,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,949 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Stock Down 0.7%

Cheniere Energy stock opened at $211.57 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $199.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $218.11. The company has a market capitalization of $45.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.79, a PEG ratio of 6.65 and a beta of 0.26. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $186.20 and a fifty-two week high of $246.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The energy company reported $4.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.75 by $2.00. The company had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.87 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 21.12%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.93 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th will be given a $0.555 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 6th. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director W Benjamin Moreland bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $208.22 per share, with a total value of $1,041,100.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 9,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,052,216.32. The trade was a 102.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LNG has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $275.00 target price on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Cheniere Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Barclays reduced their price target on Cheniere Energy from $262.00 to $259.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $283.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Cheniere Energy from $282.00 to $271.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $264.24.

Cheniere Energy Profile

Cheniere Energy, Inc is a U.S.-based energy company that develops, owns and operates liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure and markets LNG to global customers. The company’s core activities include natural gas liquefaction, long‑term and short‑term LNG sales and marketing, and the associated midstream services required to move gas from production basins to international markets. Cheniere focuses on converting domestic natural gas into LNG for export, providing a bridge between North American supply and overseas demand.

Cheniere’s principal operating assets are large-scale LNG export terminals located on the U.S.