Eventide Asset Management LLC Decreases Stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Eventide Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 98.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,149 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 152,174 shares during the quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $416,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,847,000. ArchPoint Investors boosted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 39.2% in the 4th quarter. ArchPoint Investors now owns 31,950 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $6,211,000 after buying an additional 9,000 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 161.4% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 511,407 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $99,412,000 after buying an additional 315,777 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 64,772 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $12,591,000 after buying an additional 1,777 shares during the period. Finally, Brasada Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Brasada Capital Management LP now owns 20,015 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $3,959,000 after buying an additional 813 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $259.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Cheniere Energy from $286.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Cheniere Energy from $296.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Cheniere Energy from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $298.63.

Cheniere Energy Trading Down 2.6%

LNG opened at $234.89 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $49.22 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.63. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $186.20 and a 52 week high of $300.89. The business’s 50 day moving average is $250.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $231.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $5.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 38.95% and a net margin of 7.23%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 14.93 EPS for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given 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 payout ratio is 36.51%.

Cheniere Energy declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the energy company to reacquire up to 21.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Cheniere Energy

In other Cheniere Energy news, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of Cheniere Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.98, for a total transaction of $6,473,141.08. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares of Cheniere Energy stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 87,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,143,800. This trade represents a 24.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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.