Ethic Inc. Sells 6,805 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Ethic Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 27.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 18,237 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 6,805 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $3,545,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LNG. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc bought a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 250.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 140 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LNG. Weiss Ratings raised Cheniere Energy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Cheniere Energy from $285.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $296.00 to $322.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. 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. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $305.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $296.50.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Cheniere Energy stock opened at $240.56 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $50.55 billion, a PE ratio of 39.57 and a beta of 0.07. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $186.20 and a one year high of $300.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $264.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $226.99.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. 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 36.34%. Cheniere Energy’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 13.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be paid a $0.555 dividend. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.51%.

Cheniere Energy announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the energy company to repurchase up to 21.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

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