J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Raises Holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 12.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 24,479 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,724 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $4,758,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LNG. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter worth $335,000. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 13.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 8,825 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,149,000 after buying an additional 1,035 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 23.1% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 183,153 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $44,600,000 after buying an additional 34,422 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 103,040 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $25,092,000 after buying an additional 805 shares during the period. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 87.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 36,502 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $8,889,000 after buying an additional 16,977 shares during the period. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The shares were 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 $26,143,800. This represents a 24.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LNG has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Cheniere Energy from $313.00 to $308.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $276.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $298.63.

Cheniere Energy Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE LNG opened at $238.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.04 billion and a P/E ratio of 39.28. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $186.20 and a 1-year high of $300.89. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $256.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $230.19.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported ($16.65) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.25 by ($20.90). The company had revenue of $5.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.69 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 38.95% and a net margin of 7.23%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.57 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 14.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding 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 often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is 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 given a dividend of $0.555 per share. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.51%.

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.