Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Purchases New Shares in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,356 shares of the energy company's stock, valued at approximately $291,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of LNG. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 373.1% during the 4th 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 acquired a new position in Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new position in Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Nemes Rush Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 2,022.2% in the fourth quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 191 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cheniere Energy news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.51, for a total transaction of $1,975,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 33,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,448,852.34. This trade represents a 20.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LNG stock traded down $0.35 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $232.37. 1,726,704 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,863,203. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $153.03 and a 52 week high of $257.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.33 and a beta of 0.41. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $225.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $220.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The energy company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.81 by ($1.24). The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 37.19% and a net margin of 20.71%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Cheniere Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $248.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Raymond James reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Argus initiated coverage on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $255.00 price objective on the stock. Wolfe Research cut shares of Cheniere Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $202.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $252.23.

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.