Short Interest in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) Rises By 24.1%

Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 4,552,333 shares, an increase of 24.1% from the February 26th total of 3,668,001 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,837,031 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.2 days. Currently, 2.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheniere Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LNG. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $731,774,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 555.0% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 810,138 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $157,483,000 after buying an additional 686,459 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd bought a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $142,688,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 518.8% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 577,533 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $112,267,000 after acquiring an additional 484,198 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $107,319,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

NYSE LNG traded down $3.51 on Monday, reaching $293.40. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,399,852 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,739,178. The firm has a market cap of $61.67 billion, a PE ratio of 12.07 and a beta of 0.25. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $235.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $220.07. Cheniere Energy has a 52 week low of $186.20 and a 52 week high of $300.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $10.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.90 by $6.78. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 26.68% and a return on equity of 32.04%. The firm had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.48 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.33 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Cheniere Energy will post 11.69 EPS for the current year.

Cheniere Energy declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the energy company to repurchase up to 21.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a $0.555 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is currently 9.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America lifted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $296.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Cheniere Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $236.00 to $313.00 in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $276.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $282.00.

About Cheniere Energy

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.