Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Cuts Holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 15.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 794,190 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 140,105 shares during the quarter. Cheniere Energy makes up approximately 1.3% of Westwood Holdings Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned 0.35% of Cheniere Energy worth $170,648,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 170.5% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 119 shares of the energy company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new position in Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Nemes Rush Group LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Cheniere Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Argus initiated coverage on Cheniere Energy in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $255.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on Cheniere Energy from $254.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wolfe Research downgraded Cheniere Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $252.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Two research 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $252.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheniere Energy

In other Cheniere Energy news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 33,934 shares in the company, valued at $7,448,852.34. The trade was a 20.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LNG stock traded down $1.04 on Thursday, reaching $228.27. The stock had a trading volume of 1,505,981 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,864,867. The stock has a market cap of $50.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.04 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.07. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $227.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $222.40. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $153.03 and a 1 year high of $257.65.

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

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 19th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. Cheniere Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.63%.

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.