Merit Financial Group LLC Sells 4,395 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Key Points

• Merit Financial Group LLC cut its position in Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) by 42.7% in Q4, selling 4,395 shares and leaving 5,902 shares valued at about $1.147 million.
• Company insiders EVP Sean N. Markowitz and CFO Zach Davis sold 22,246 and 29,000 shares respectively in late March — generating roughly $6.47 million and $8.7 million and reducing each of their stakes by about 25%.
• Cheniere announced a $10 billion share buyback (up to 21.1% of shares), reported a strong quarterly EPS beat ($10.68 vs. $3.90) with revenue up 22.9% year‑over‑year, and holds a consensus analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $295.56 target.

Merit Financial Group LLC cut its position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 42.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,902 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 4,395 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $1,147,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LNG. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in Cheniere Energy in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Cheniere Energy in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc bought a new position in Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its position in Cheniere Energy by 250.0% in the third quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 140 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Cheniere Energy in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Cheniere Energy

In related news, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 64,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,622,720. This trade represents a 25.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 87,146 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,143,800. This represents a 24.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on LNG. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Cheniere Energy from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $285.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Wolfe Research set a $220.00 price objective on Cheniere Energy and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $276.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $295.56.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

Shares of LNG opened at $257.29 on Friday. 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 1.74, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $54.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.59 and a beta of 0.14. The business has a 50-day moving average of $257.19 and a 200-day moving average of $224.78.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $10.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.90 by $6.78. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 32.04% and a net margin of 26.68%.The company had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.48 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.33 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 14.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the energy company to reacquire up to 21.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically 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 Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a dividend of $0.555 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Cheniere Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.14%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LNG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.