Foundations Investment Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 15.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 91,692 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 12,353 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $17,824,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of LNG. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $335,000. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 13.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 8,825 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,149,000 after buying an additional 1,035 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 23.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 183,153 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $44,600,000 after buying an additional 34,422 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 103,040 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $25,092,000 after buying an additional 805 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 87.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 36,502 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $8,889,000 after buying an additional 16,977 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Cheniere Energy

In related news, 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 in the company, valued at $26,143,800. This trade represents a 24.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 64,000 shares in the company, 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. 0.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on LNG shares. UBS Group set a $290.00 target price on Cheniere Energy in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Cheniere Energy from $313.00 to $308.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Benchmark reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Cheniere Energy from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Cheniere Energy has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $293.50.

Cheniere Energy Stock Down 1.3%

LNG opened at $230.96 on Thursday. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $186.20 and a 12 month high of $300.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market cap of $48.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.99 and a beta of 0.07. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $262.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $229.28.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported ($16.65) EPS 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 business had revenue of $5.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 15.2 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $0.555 dividend. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.51%.

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.