Geode Capital Management LLC Sells 95,466 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Geode Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,882,994 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 95,466 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $752,597,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,219,557 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $4,124,870,000 after purchasing an additional 414,022 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,007,073 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,411,542,000 after purchasing an additional 377,369 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 21.5% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,025,609 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $475,633,000 after purchasing an additional 359,123 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,786,636 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $419,824,000 after purchasing an additional 95,545 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,776,978 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $417,554,000 after purchasing an additional 47,619 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LNG opened at $224.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $186.20 and a one year high of $300.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.91 and a beta of 0.07. The business has a fifty day moving average of $261.11 and a 200 day moving average of $229.40.

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

Cheniere Energy announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the energy company to reacquire up to 21.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheniere Energy

In related news, CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares of Cheniere Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $8,700,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 87,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,143,800. The trade was a 24.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of Cheniere Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 26th. The stock was 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 directly owned 64,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,622,720. The trade was a 25.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Zacks Research raised Cheniere Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Cheniere Energy from $313.00 to $308.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Benchmark reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Cheniere Energy from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Two equities research 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 MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $293.50.

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.