Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. Takes Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Key Points

• Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. initiated a new position in Cheniere Energy in Q4, buying 17,656 shares valued at about $3.43 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: Cheniere has a consensus Buy rating and a consensus price target of $293.50, though Weiss Ratings recently downgraded the stock to Hold.
• The company reported a sharp quarterly earnings miss, posting EPS of ($16.65) versus estimates of $4.25, even as revenue came in above expectations and rose 7.8% year over year.

Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 17,656 shares of the energy company's stock, valued at approximately $3,432,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LNG. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $335,000. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake 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 valued at $2,149,000 after acquiring an additional 1,035 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake 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 valued at $44,600,000 after acquiring an additional 34,422 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in 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 valued at $25,092,000 after purchasing an additional 805 shares during the period. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC grew its position in Cheniere Energy by 87.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 36,502 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $8,889,000 after purchasing an additional 16,977 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Cheniere Energy from a "buy (b)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $259.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $296.00 to $322.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $293.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheniere Energy

In other news, CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares of Cheniere Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $8,700,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 87,146 shares in the company, valued at $26,143,800. The trade was a 24.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of Cheniere Energy 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 64,000 shares in the company, valued at $18,622,720. The trade was a 25.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LNG opened at $243.71 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $263.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $228.26. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $186.20 and a 1-year high of $300.89. The stock has a market cap of $51.07 billion, a PE ratio of 40.08 and a beta of 0.07.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 7.23% and a return on equity of 38.95%. The company had revenue of $5.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.57 earnings per share. Cheniere Energy's revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 15.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $0.555 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Cheniere Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.51%.

Cheniere Energy announced that its board has approved a share buyback program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Cheniere Energy Company 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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