Clough Capital Partners L P Purchases 3,130 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Clough Capital Partners L P grew its position in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 50,360 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 3,130 shares during the quarter. Clough Capital Partners L P’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $9,789,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Cheniere Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc bought a new position in Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter worth $43,000. 87.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Cheniere Energy in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $283.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Cheniere Energy from $276.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Cheniere Energy from $280.00 to $271.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Cheniere Energy from $313.00 to $308.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Cheniere Energy from $259.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $297.71.

Cheniere Energy Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of LNG stock opened at $231.67 on Thursday. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $186.20 and a 52-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 firm has a market capitalization of $48.55 billion and a PE ratio of 38.10. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $248.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $231.97.

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

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Cheniere Energy declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the energy company to reacquire up to 21.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Cheniere Energy Profile

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.