Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG Holdings Reduced by Epoch Investment Partners Inc.

Key Points

• Epoch Investment Partners trimmed its Cheniere Energy stake by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, though it still held 289,908 shares worth about $56.4 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains generally positive: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating, with analysts’ average price target at $298.63 despite a few recent target cuts and rating downgrades.
• Cheniere reported a recent quarterly EPS miss but beat revenue estimates, and the company also has a $10 billion share repurchase authorization plus a quarterly dividend yielding about 0.9%.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. decreased its position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 289,908 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 8,460 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of Cheniere Energy worth $56,355,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ArchPoint Investors grew its position in Cheniere Energy by 39.2% in the 4th quarter. ArchPoint Investors now owns 31,950 shares of the energy company's stock worth $6,211,000 after purchasing an additional 9,000 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in Cheniere Energy by 161.4% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 511,407 shares of the energy company's stock worth $99,412,000 after purchasing an additional 315,777 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its position in Cheniere Energy by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 64,772 shares of the energy company's stock worth $12,591,000 after purchasing an additional 1,777 shares during the last quarter. Brasada Capital Management LP grew its position in Cheniere Energy by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Brasada Capital Management LP now owns 20,015 shares of the energy company's stock worth $3,959,000 after purchasing an additional 813 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bornite Capital Management LP grew its position in Cheniere Energy by 229.6% in the 4th quarter. Bornite Capital Management LP now owns 358,900 shares of the energy company's stock worth $69,767,000 after purchasing an additional 250,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on LNG shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $313.00 to $308.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $280.00 to $271.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 13th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Cheniere Energy from a "buy (b)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Cheniere Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $298.63.

Insider Activity at Cheniere Energy

In related news, CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 64,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,622,720. This trade represents a 25.79% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Cheniere Energy Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:LNG opened at $240.85 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.47 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.61. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $186.20 and a 1-year 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $251.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $231.40.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $5.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.57 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 14.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $0.555 dividend. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Cheniere Energy's dividend payout ratio is 36.51%.

Cheniere Energy announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.

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