58,680 Shares in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG Bought by Milford Funds Ltd.

Milford Funds Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 58,680 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,407,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Cheniere Energy during the third quarter worth $27,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc bought a new position in Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter worth $46,000. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LNG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Cheniere Energy from $280.00 to $271.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 13th. UBS Group set a $290.00 target price on Cheniere Energy in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Cheniere Energy from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Cheniere Energy from $296.00 to $322.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $298.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction of $6,473,141.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 64,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,622,720. This trade represents a 25.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $8,700,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 87,146 shares in the company, valued at $26,143,800. This trade represents a 24.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

LNG stock opened at $240.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.47 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.61. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $186.20 and a 1 year high of $300.89. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $251.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $231.21.

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

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.51%.

Cheniere Energy declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the energy company to repurchase up to 21.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are 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.