NorthRock Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

NorthRock Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,636 shares of the energy company's stock, valued at approximately $351,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP bought a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,924,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp grew its stake in Cheniere Energy by 19.0% in the 4th quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 9,982 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $2,145,000 after buying an additional 1,595 shares during the last quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners acquired a new position in Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter worth $218,000. Meketa Capital LLC bought a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $494,000. Finally, NDVR Inc. grew its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. NDVR Inc. now owns 1,188 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Cheniere Energy

In other news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of the business'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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:LNG traded down $3.61 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $229.34. The stock had a trading volume of 1,556,859 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,862,294. The stock has a market cap of $50.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.12 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $227.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $222.35. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $153.03 and a 12-month high of $257.65.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.81 by ($1.24). Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 37.19% and a net margin of 20.71%. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. The company's revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Cheniere Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on LNG shares. Argus started coverage on Cheniere Energy in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $255.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Cheniere Energy from $252.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $277.00 price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy presently 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.