Darlington Partners Capital Management LP Trims Holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Darlington Partners Capital Management LP decreased its stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,220,223 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 59,250 shares during the quarter. Cheniere Energy comprises 9.8% of Darlington Partners Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $262,189,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of LNG. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Cheniere Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $225,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $159,000. Diversified Trust Co purchased a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $614,000. First Hawaiian Bank grew its stake in Cheniere Energy by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 12,076 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,595,000 after acquiring an additional 889 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC purchased a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $7,046,000. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Stock Up 2.1 %

LNG stock opened at $239.41 on Thursday. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $153.03 and a 52 week high of $257.65. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $224.23 and a 200 day moving average of $219.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.34 billion, a PE ratio of 16.82 and a beta of 0.41.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The energy company reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $1.59. The company had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 37.19%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is 14.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.51, for a total transaction of $1,975,590.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 33,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,448,852.34. This trade represents a 20.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on LNG shares. Barclays increased their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $202.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Wolfe Research downgraded Cheniere Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $254.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. StockNews.com raised shares of Cheniere Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $277.00 price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $251.46.

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.