Proficio Capital Partners LLC Decreases Holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 14.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,680 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 453 shares during the quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $576,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LNG. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 89.5% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 5,945 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,069,000 after acquiring an additional 2,808 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 10.1% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 15,871 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,854,000 after acquiring an additional 1,460 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 2.4% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 3,891 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $700,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 14.2% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,978 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,794,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 1.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 940,200 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $169,086,000 after purchasing an additional 15,675 shares during the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:LNG opened at $227.24 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $50.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.97 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $225.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $209.13. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $152.88 and a twelve month high of $257.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The energy company reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $1.59. The business had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 37.19% and a net margin of 20.71%. As a group, research analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LNG. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $202.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $234.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cheniere Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $248.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheniere Energy

In other news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of Cheniere Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.51, for a total value of $1,975,590.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 33,934 shares of the company’s stock, 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 through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy 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.