ELCO Management Co. LLC Sells 20,282 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

ELCO Management Co. LLC reduced its holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 39.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 31,104 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 20,282 shares during the quarter. Cheniere Energy comprises 3.8% of ELCO Management Co. LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. ELCO Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $6,046,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Cheniere Energy by 19.0% in the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,691 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $523,000 after acquiring an additional 429 shares during the period. Freedom Day Solutions LLC increased its position in Cheniere Energy by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLC now owns 11,881 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,310,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the period. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs increased its position in Cheniere Energy by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs now owns 30,615 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $5,951,000 after acquiring an additional 1,798 shares during the period. Fortem Financial Group LLC increased its position in Cheniere Energy by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 7,854 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,527,000 after acquiring an additional 701 shares during the period. Finally, 49 Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Cheniere Energy by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,759 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $536,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LNG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Cheniere Energy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Cheniere Energy from $338.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $286.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $305.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $296.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheniere Energy

In other news, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of the firm’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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares of the firm’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,143,800. This trade represents a 24.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LNG opened at $240.56 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.57 and a beta of 0.07. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $264.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $226.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $186.20 and a 52-week high of $300.89.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The energy company reported ($16.65) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.25 by ($20.90). The business had revenue of $5.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 36.34% and a net margin of 7.23%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.57 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 13.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be given a $0.555 dividend. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.51%.

Cheniere Energy announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is 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.