Insider Selling: Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) Director Sells 9,000 Shares of Stock

Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.51, for a total value of $1,975,590.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 33,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,448,852.34. This represents a 20.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:LNG traded up $8.58 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $228.51. The company had a trading volume of 4,031,354 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,424,095. The firm has a market cap of $51.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.06 and a beta of 0.98. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $152.31 and a 52 week high of $257.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $223.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $204.69.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The energy company reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $1.59. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 37.19% and a net margin of 20.71%. The business had revenue of $4.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.05%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter worth $629,197,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 195.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,200,456 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $755,410,000 after buying an additional 2,776,920 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 91.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,747,370 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $673,927,000 after purchasing an additional 1,789,919 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 1,400.7% in the 4th quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 1,509,717 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $324,393,000 after buying an additional 1,409,116 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 84.6% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,651,500 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $354,858,000 after acquiring an additional 756,900 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LNG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $242.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com raised Cheniere Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $213.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $202.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $232.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.75.

Cheniere Energy Company Profile

Cheniere Energy, Inc, an energy infrastructure company, primarily engages in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) related businesses in the United States. It owns and operates the Sabine Pass LNG terminal in Cameron Parish, Louisiana; and the Corpus Christi LNG terminal near Corpus Christi, Texas. The company also owns Creole Trail pipeline, a 94-mile natural gas supply pipeline that interconnects the Sabine Pass LNG Terminal with several interstate and intrastate pipelines; and operates Corpus Christi pipeline, a 21.5-mile natural gas supply pipeline that interconnects the Corpus Christi LNG terminal with various interstate and intrastate natural gas pipelines.