National Pension Service Boosts Holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

National Pension Service boosted its position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 628,756 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 31,794 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $122,073,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LNG. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter worth $335,000. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 13.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 8,825 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,149,000 after purchasing an additional 1,035 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 23.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 183,153 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $44,600,000 after purchasing an additional 34,422 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 103,040 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $25,092,000 after purchasing an additional 805 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 87.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 36,502 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $8,889,000 after purchasing an additional 16,977 shares in the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of the business’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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 64,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,622,720. The trade was a 25.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $8,700,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 87,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,143,800. This represents 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 Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of LNG stock opened at $224.42 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $261.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $229.40. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $186.20 and a twelve month high of $300.89. The company has a market capitalization of $47.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.91 and a beta of 0.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $5.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 15.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the energy company to reacquire up to 21.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.555 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is presently 36.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LNG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Cheniere Energy from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $276.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $293.50.

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.