PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 10.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,255 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 1,430 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $2,633,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Cheniere Energy by 195.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,200,456 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $755,410,000 after purchasing an additional 2,776,920 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 91.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,747,370 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $673,927,000 after purchasing an additional 1,789,919 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd raised its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 1,400.7% during the 4th quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 1,509,717 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $324,393,000 after buying an additional 1,409,116 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in Cheniere Energy by 328.2% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 894,600 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $160,885,000 after buying an additional 685,662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,664,439 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $357,638,000 after buying an additional 631,787 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Stock Up 3.3 %

Shares of Cheniere Energy stock opened at $218.61 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $48.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.36 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $224.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $207.29. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $152.88 and a 1 year high of $257.65.

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

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on LNG. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Cheniere Energy from $237.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group increased their price target on Cheniere Energy from $232.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $202.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cheniere Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.33.

Insider Activity 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 33,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,448,852.34. This represents a 20.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is 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.