Morton Community Bank Purchases 200 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Morton Community Bank boosted its stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 16,075 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Morton Community Bank’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $3,454,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,127,000. Fractal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Fractal Investments LLC now owns 59,200 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $12,720,000 after acquiring an additional 14,000 shares in the last quarter. Anderson Hoagland & Co. purchased a new position in Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,460,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 31.4% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 36,664 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $7,812,000 after purchasing an additional 8,756 shares during the period. Finally, Insight Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $4,455,000. 87.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Cheniere Energy

In other Cheniere Energy news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 33,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,448,852.34. The trade was a 20.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Stock Up 2.4 %

LNG stock opened at $220.57 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $152.88 and a 52 week high of $257.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.50 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $225.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $206.54.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The energy company reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 37.19% and a net margin of 20.71%. Equities analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $213.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Cheniere Energy from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen increased their target price on Cheniere Energy from $242.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $237.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Cheniere Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.33.

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.