Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Sells 22,313 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH decreased its position in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 11.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 169,935 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 22,313 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $32,973,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on LNG. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $338.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Cheniere Energy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Wolfe Research set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $296.00 to $322.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $295.56.

Insider Transactions at Cheniere Energy

In related news, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 64,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,622,720. This represents a 25.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $8,700,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 87,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,143,800. This trade represents a 24.97% 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 corporate insiders.

Cheniere Energy Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE LNG opened at $257.29 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $257.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $224.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock has a market cap of $54.07 billion, a PE ratio of 10.59 and a beta of 0.14. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $186.20 and a 12 month high of $300.89.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $10.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.90 by $6.78. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 26.68% and a return on equity of 32.04%. The company had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.48 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.33 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 14.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a $0.555 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 9.14%.

Cheniere Energy announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the energy company to purchase up to 21.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.