Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Buys 848 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 25,927 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 848 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $4,426,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Cheniere Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Cheniere Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 203.4% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 176 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Cheniere Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 48.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 274 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Stock Up 1.0 %

LNG stock opened at $162.07 on Friday. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.30 and a twelve month high of $183.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.59. The company has a market cap of $37.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s 50 day moving average is $158.09.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The energy company reported $5.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.70 by $3.06. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 69.52% and a net margin of 48.45%. The company had revenue of $4.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $15.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 46.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 8.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 6th were paid a dividend of $0.435 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 5th. This represents a $1.74 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 4.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LNG. StockNews.com downgraded Cheniere Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Barclays boosted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $192.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Cheniere Energy in a report on Tuesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $162.00 target price on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on Cheniere Energy from $185.00 to $178.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $193.30.

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.