HighTower Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 176,121 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 7,172 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $34,236,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the third quarter worth $27,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its position in Cheniere Energy by 250.0% in the third quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 140 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc purchased a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the third quarter worth $38,000. 87.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on LNG. TD Cowen raised their target price on Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Barclays lifted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $259.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $286.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Cheniere Energy from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $293.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheniere Energy

In related news, CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares of Cheniere Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $8,700,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 87,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,143,800. This trade represents a 24.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of Cheniere Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.98, for a total value of $6,473,141.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 64,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,622,720. This represents a 25.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LNG opened at $240.59 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $50.42 billion, a PE ratio of 39.57 and a beta of 0.07. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $186.20 and a fifty-two week high of $300.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $263.41 and a 200-day moving average of $228.55.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported ($16.65) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.25 by ($20.90). The company had revenue of $5.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.69 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 7.23% and a return on equity of 38.95%. Cheniere Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.57 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 15.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $0.555 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.51%.

Cheniere Energy announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the energy company to buy up to 21.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

About Cheniere Energy

Cheniere Energy, Inc is a U.S.-based energy company that develops, owns and operates liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure and markets LNG to global customers. The company’s core activities include natural gas liquefaction, long?term and short?term LNG sales and marketing, and the associated midstream services required to move gas from production basins to international markets. Cheniere focuses on converting domestic natural gas into LNG for export, providing a bridge between North American supply and overseas demand.

Cheniere’s principal operating assets are large-scale LNG export terminals located on the U.S.