Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Has $4.41 Million Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 15.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 22,852 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 3,070 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $4,413,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Viking Fund Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 66.7% in the fourth quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC now owns 45,000 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $8,748,000 after acquiring an additional 18,000 shares in the last quarter. M&G PLC grew its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 49.6% in the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 556,285 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $130,727,000 after acquiring an additional 184,520 shares in the last quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 38.8% in the fourth quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 56,930 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $11,067,000 after acquiring an additional 15,927 shares in the last quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 35.3% in the third quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 196,819 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $46,244,000 after acquiring an additional 51,326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 12.6% in the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,460,762 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $343,250,000 after acquiring an additional 163,861 shares in the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on LNG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $338.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Cheniere Energy from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $276.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Cheniere Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $293.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 87,146 shares in the company, valued at $26,143,800. This trade represents a 24.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.98, for a total transaction of $6,473,141.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 64,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,622,720. This trade represents a 25.79% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cheniere Energy Stock Up 0.3%

LNG stock opened at $241.77 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.76 and a beta of 0.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $186.20 and a 12 month high of $300.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $264.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $227.50.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted its 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 company had revenue of $5.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 38.95% and a net margin of 7.23%.The firm’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.57 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 15.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Cheniere Energy declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors 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.