Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 303,663 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 24.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 915,952 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 303,663 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.41% of Cheniere Energy worth $196,810,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LNG. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 460 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 2,339 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $503,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,346 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $719,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. American Money Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. American Money Management LLC now owns 10,987 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,361,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 7,043 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,513,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LNG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $213.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Cheniere Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Argus assumed coverage on Cheniere Energy in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $255.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Cheniere Energy from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheniere Energy

In related news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of Cheniere Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.51, for a total value of $1,975,590.00. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of LNG opened at $230.60 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $152.88 and a 12 month high of $257.65. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $222.74 and its 200-day moving average is $211.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.58 billion, a PE ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.94.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The energy company reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $1.59. The firm had revenue of $4.44 billion for 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.05%.

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.