Investors Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG)

Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock traders acquired 8,643 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 62% compared to the typical volume of 5,346 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LNG. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $213.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $202.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $237.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Mizuho upped their target price on Cheniere Energy from $248.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Thursday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.79.

Insider Transactions at Cheniere Energy

In other Cheniere Energy news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of Cheniere Energy stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 33,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,448,852.34. This trade represents a 20.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheniere Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 460 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 2,339 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $503,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. BIP Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 3,545 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $762,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC grew its position in Cheniere Energy by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 1,488 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $320,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, NDVR Inc. raised its position in Cheniere Energy by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. NDVR Inc. now owns 1,188 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LNG traded up $7.10 during trading on Monday, reaching $204.35. 1,174,954 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,832,044. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. Cheniere Energy has a fifty-two week low of $152.88 and a fifty-two week high of $257.65. The firm has a market cap of $45.71 billion, a PE ratio of 14.10 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $221.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $212.44.

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. The company had revenue of $4.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.44 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 37.19%. As a group, analysts predict that Cheniere Energy will post 11.69 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 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.05%.

About Cheniere Energy

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.