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

Key Points

• Eventide Asset Management cut its Cheniere Energy stake by 98.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 152,174 shares and leaving it with 2,149 shares valued at about $416,000.
• Wall Street remains broadly bullish on LNG: several firms recently raised price targets, and the stock carries a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target of $298.63.
• Cheniere reported a major earnings miss, posting ($16.65) EPS versus expectations of $4.25, even as revenue came in above estimates at $5.87 billion; the company also pays a quarterly dividend and has authorized a $10 billion share repurchase plan.

Eventide Asset Management LLC lowered its position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 98.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,149 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 152,174 shares during the period. Eventide Asset Management LLC's holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $416,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Cheniere Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter worth $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LNG. Benchmark reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Cheniere Energy from a "buy (b)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $298.63.

Cheniere Energy Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of LNG opened at $234.89 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $49.22 billion and a P/E ratio of 38.63. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $186.20 and a 12-month high of $300.89. The company's 50-day moving average price is $250.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $231.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported ($16.65) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.25 by ($20.90). The firm had revenue of $5.87 billion during 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 business's revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 14.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $0.555 dividend. 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 payout ratio is currently 36.51%.

Cheniere Energy declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the energy company to repurchase up to 21.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Cheniere Energy news, CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares of Cheniere Energy stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 87,146 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,143,800. The trade was a 24.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of Cheniere Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.98, for a total value of $6,473,141.08. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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.

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