Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $284.27, but opened at $261.00. Cheniere Energy shares last traded at $267.3540, with a volume of 1,372,475 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on LNG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $279.00 to $338.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Cheniere Energy from $280.00 to $271.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley raised Cheniere Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $236.00 to $313.00 in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Scotiabank increased their price target on Cheniere Energy from $266.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. One equities research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $291.88.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $245.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $222.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.14 and a beta of 0.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $10.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.90 by $6.78. The firm had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.48 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 32.04% and a net margin of 26.68%.Cheniere Energy’s revenue was up 22.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.33 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

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

Cheniere Energy announced that its board has approved a stock 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 often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheniere Energy

In other news, CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 26th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $18,622,720. This trade represents a 25.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheniere Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LNG. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter worth $335,000. CW Advisors LLC increased its stake in Cheniere Energy by 41.9% in the 2nd quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 2,949 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $714,000 after buying an additional 871 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Cheniere Energy by 51.3% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,495 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $364,000 after buying an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Cheniere Energy by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 10,636 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,590,000 after buying an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in Cheniere Energy by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 110,007 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $26,789,000 after buying an additional 5,627 shares in the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.