Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 3,533,623 shares, a decrease of 26.0% from the December 15th total of 4,773,211 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,804,369 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days. Approximately 1.6% of the company’s shares are sold short. Approximately 1.6% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,804,369 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LNG. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $283.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Monday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $254.00 price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Barclays cut their price target on Cheniere Energy from $262.00 to $259.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Cheniere Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $265.59.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

LNG traded up $3.71 on Friday, reaching $206.45. The stock had a trading volume of 2,110,151 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,584,142. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $200.19 and a 200-day moving average of $220.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. Cheniere Energy has a fifty-two week low of $186.20 and a fifty-two week high of $257.65. The company has a market capitalization of $44.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.64 and a beta of 0.26.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The energy company reported $4.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $2.00. The firm had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.87 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 21.12% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The company’s revenue was up 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.93 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy will post 11.69 EPS for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th were paid a $0.555 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. This is an increase from Cheniere Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is currently 12.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cheniere Energy news, Director W Benjamin Moreland bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $208.22 per share, with a total value of $1,041,100.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 9,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,052,216.32. The trade was a 102.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Cheniere Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $957,425,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the second quarter valued at about $384,806,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 704.3% during the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 952,092 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $231,853,000 after purchasing an additional 833,723 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd bought a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the third quarter valued at about $142,688,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in Cheniere Energy during the second quarter worth about $107,319,000. 87.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.