Baird Financial Group Inc. Acquires 22,055 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 34.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 85,244 shares of the energy company's stock after buying an additional 22,055 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $18,316,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in Cheniere Energy by 170.5% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 119 shares of the energy company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 373.1% during the fourth quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 123 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Nemes Rush Group LLC raised its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 2,022.2% during the 4th quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 191 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 33,934 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $252.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $277.00 price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Cheniere Energy from $242.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Cheniere Energy from $254.00 to $258.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $251.46.

Cheniere Energy Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE LNG opened at $234.98 on Wednesday. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $153.03 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $224.01 and a 200 day moving average of $218.90. The stock has a market cap of $52.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.51 and a beta of 0.41.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The energy company reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.74 by $1.59. The firm had revenue of $4.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.44 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 37.19% and a net margin of 20.71%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Cheniere Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.05%.

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.

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