Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Raises Stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 10.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,532 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 2,509 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $4,963,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,219,557 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $4,124,870,000 after acquiring an additional 414,022 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 6.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,007,073 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,411,542,000 after acquiring an additional 377,369 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 21.5% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,025,609 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $475,633,000 after acquiring an additional 359,123 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 5.6% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,786,636 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $419,824,000 after acquiring an additional 95,545 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 2.8% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,776,978 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $417,554,000 after acquiring an additional 47,619 shares during the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cheniere Energy Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:LNG opened at $240.59 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $263.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $228.92. The firm has a market cap of $50.42 billion, a PE ratio of 39.57 and a beta of 0.07. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $186.20 and a 12-month high of $300.89.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported ($16.65) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.25 by ($20.90). Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 7.23% and a return on equity of 38.95%. The business had revenue of $5.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 15.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

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

Cheniere Energy announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the energy company to repurchase up to 21.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group set a $290.00 price target on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $276.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $296.00 to $322.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $293.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheniere Energy

In related news, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 26th. The shares were 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 represents a 25.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction 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 $26,143,800. The trade was a 24.97% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

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.