Sandy Spring Bank Acquires 647 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Sandy Spring Bank grew its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 31,772 shares of the energy company’s stock after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the period. Sandy Spring Bank’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $6,827,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of LNG. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,776,920 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 91.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,747,370 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $673,927,000 after acquiring an additional 1,789,919 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd raised its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 1,400.7% during the fourth quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 1,509,717 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $324,393,000 after acquiring an additional 1,409,116 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 328.2% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 894,600 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $160,885,000 after acquiring an additional 685,662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $357,638,000 after acquiring an additional 631,787 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE LNG opened at $227.29 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.97 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $224.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $208.31. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $152.88 and a 1 year 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.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $1.59. The firm had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 37.19%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.05%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of Cheniere Energy 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 33,934 shares in the company, valued at $7,448,852.34. This trade represents a 20.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LNG. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $213.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $242.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $248.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $237.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.79.

Cheniere Energy Company 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.