Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG Shares Sold by Pointe Capital Management LLC

Pointe Capital Management LLC lessened its position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 56.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,872 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 3,758 shares during the period. Pointe Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $558,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Viking Fund Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 66.7% in the 4th quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC now owns 45,000 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $8,748,000 after acquiring an additional 18,000 shares during the period. Trivium Point Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 38.8% in the 4th quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 56,930 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $11,067,000 after acquiring an additional 15,927 shares during the period. Waverton Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 35.3% in the 3rd quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 196,819 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $46,244,000 after acquiring an additional 51,326 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG increased its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 227.7% in the 4th quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 15,505 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $3,014,000 after acquiring an additional 10,774 shares during the period. Finally, Lewis Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 127.4% in the 4th quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC now owns 8,751 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,701,000 after acquiring an additional 4,903 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on LNG shares. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Cheniere Energy from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $280.00 to $271.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 13th. UBS Group set a $290.00 target price on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Cheniere Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $297.71.

Cheniere Energy Stock Down 1.9%

Cheniere Energy stock opened at $230.67 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $48.34 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $249.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $231.79. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $186.20 and a 52 week high of $300.89.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported ($16.65) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.25 by ($20.90). The company had revenue of $5.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 7.23% and a return on equity of 38.95%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.57 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 14.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.555 dividend. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is presently 36.51%.

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.