Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) Shares Sold by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 197,000 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 7,167 shares during the quarter. Cheniere Energy accounts for 0.9% of Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System owned 0.09% of Cheniere Energy worth $42,329,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 32,357 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $6,953,000 after acquiring an additional 2,430 shares during the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,853,000. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 489,305 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $105,137,000 after buying an additional 20,541 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 7,043 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,513,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SouthState Corp lifted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 25,970 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $5,580,000 after buying an additional 1,245 shares in the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cheniere Energy news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 33,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,448,852.34. This trade represents a 20.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Cheniere Energy Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE LNG opened at $224.07 on Wednesday. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $224.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $208.17. The company has a market capitalization of $50.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.75 and a beta of 0.94. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $152.88 and a 12 month high of $257.65.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The energy company reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $1.59. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 37.19%. The firm had revenue of $4.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is currently 14.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on LNG. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Argus began coverage on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $255.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cheniere Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $242.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Thursday, March 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cheniere Energy 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.