McLaughlin Asset Management Inc. Takes Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

McLaughlin Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,236 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $629,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Viking Fund Management LLC raised its stake in Cheniere Energy by 66.7% in the fourth quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC now owns 45,000 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $8,748,000 after buying an additional 18,000 shares during the period. Trivium Point Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 38.8% during the 4th quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 56,930 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $11,067,000 after acquiring an additional 15,927 shares during the period. Waverton Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 35.3% during the 3rd quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 196,819 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $46,244,000 after acquiring an additional 51,326 shares during the last quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG increased its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 227.7% during the 4th quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 15,505 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $3,014,000 after acquiring an additional 10,774 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lewis Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 127.4% in the fourth quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC now owns 8,751 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,701,000 after purchasing an additional 4,903 shares during the period. 87.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LNG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $276.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Cheniere Energy from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Cheniere Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Cheniere Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $297.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cheniere Energy 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 value of $6,473,141.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $8,700,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 87,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,143,800. The trade was a 24.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Cheniere Energy Trading Down 1.8%

LNG opened at $227.25 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $47.62 billion and a P/E ratio of 37.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55. The company’s 50 day moving average is $247.17 and its 200-day moving average is $232.10. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $186.20 and a 1-year high of $300.89.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported ($16.65) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.25 by ($20.90). The company had revenue of $5.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 38.95% and a net margin of 7.23%.Cheniere Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.57 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 14.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a dividend of $0.555 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 36.51%.

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

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.