Valley National Advisers Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 29.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,006 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 226 shares during the quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $216,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 170.5% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 119 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC purchased a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Adirondack Trust Co. bought a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, City Holding Co. purchased a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LNG opened at $223.71 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market cap of $50.19 billion, a PE ratio of 14.29 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $223.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $199.51. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $152.31 and a one year high of $257.65.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The energy company reported $3.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $2.06. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 41.44% and a net margin of 22.70%. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.37 EPS. Cheniere Energy’s revenue was down 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 12.67 EPS for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on LNG. TD Cowen increased their price objective 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 upped their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $234.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $215.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $242.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $234.25.

Cheniere Energy Profile

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.