Kentucky Retirement Systems Acquires New Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Kentucky Retirement Systems acquired a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 15,251 shares of the energy company's stock, valued at approximately $3,529,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LNG. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC grew its position in Cheniere Energy by 150.0% in the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 125 shares of the energy company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Nemes Rush Group LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company's stock.

Cheniere Energy Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:LNG opened at $234.72 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.17, a PEG ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.43. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $165.25 and a 1-year high of $257.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.19. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $233.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $225.67.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last issued 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 business had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 32.62% and a net margin of 18.37%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 18th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. Cheniere Energy's payout ratio is 14.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on LNG shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $255.00 to $247.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $254.00 to $258.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $277.00 price target on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $248.00 to $254.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $252.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Neal A. Shear sold 4,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.93, for a total transaction of $1,057,499.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 29,733 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,312,236.69. This trade represents a 12.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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