Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) Shares Gap Down Following Insider Selling

Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) gapped down prior to trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $243.09, but opened at $236.48. Cheniere Energy shares last traded at $229.71, with a volume of 663,406 shares.

Specifically, Director Neal A. Shear sold 4,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.93, for a total value of $1,057,499.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 29,733 shares in the company, valued at $7,312,236.69. This represents a 12.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Argus assumed coverage on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $255.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Cheniere Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $255.00 to $247.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $252.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $277.00 price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Cheniere Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $252.23.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

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 company has a market capitalization of $50.78 billion, a PE ratio of 16.09 and a beta of 0.43. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $229.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $224.91.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The energy company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by ($1.24). Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 37.19% and a net margin of 20.71%. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 EPS for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.63%.

Institutional Trading of Cheniere Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LNG. Altman Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Cheniere Energy by 0.4% in the first quarter. Altman Advisors Inc. now owns 10,162 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,348,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in Cheniere Energy by 1.1% in the first quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 4,212 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $975,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management raised its stake in Cheniere Energy by 14.0% in the first quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 390 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in Cheniere Energy by 5.0% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,007 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BIP Wealth LLC raised its stake in Cheniere Energy by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 3,545 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $762,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

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.