Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Buys 2,546 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 11.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,921 shares of the energy company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,546 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $4,650,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the third quarter worth $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 250.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 140 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 47.6% in the 3rd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 155 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of LNG opened at $281.55 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $59.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.59 and a beta of 0.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.94. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $186.20 and a 52 week high of $300.89. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $241.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $221.60.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $10.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.90 by $6.78. The firm had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.48 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 26.68% and a return on equity of 32.04%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.33 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th were given a dividend of $0.555 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.14%.

Cheniere Energy announced that its board has authorized 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 purchase up to 21.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on LNG shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $259.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. UBS Group increased their price target on Cheniere Energy from $305.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Cheniere Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $236.00 to $313.00 in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $287.24.

Key Stories Impacting Cheniere Energy

Here are the key news stories impacting Cheniere Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citi upgraded Cheniere and raised its price target to $330 (from $280), keeping a Buy rating — a notable Wall Street vote of confidence that supports further upside. Wall Street Upgrades Cheniere Energy
• Positive Sentiment: Cheniere reported very strong recent operating and financial results (record production, strong distributable cash flow and an earnings beat), which underpin investor confidence and capacity to expand. Q4/Full-Year Results
• Positive Sentiment: Cheniere reached substantial completion on Train 5 of the Corpus Christi Stage 3 project — a capacity/expansion milestone that supports longer?term export growth. Train 5 Completion
• Positive Sentiment: U.S. LNG exports recently hit record highs as Middle East supply disruptions boost global demand for U.S. cargoes — a structural tailwind for Cheniere as the largest U.S. exporter. US LNG Exports Record
• Neutral Sentiment: Some analysts warn that persistently high LNG prices could eventually erode demand or complicate contracting/expansion dynamics — a longer?term risk to monitor. High Price Risk
• Neutral Sentiment: Some commentary notes that much of Cheniere’s long?term benefit from current disruptions may already be priced into the stock, suggesting limited incremental upside absent further tailwinds. Pricing-in Commentary
• Negative Sentiment: Cheniere’s Sabine Pass plant is running reduced flows after an outage on one production unit — a near?term operational hit that could temper near?term volumes and revenue. Sabine Pass Outage
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider sales were disclosed recently (EVP Sean Markowitz and CFO Zach Davis sold sizable blocks), which can create short?term selling pressure or raise governance/ownership questions for some investors. EVP Form 4 CFO Form 4

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheniere Energy

In other news, 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 transaction 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 approximately $18,622,720. This trade represents a 25.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 87,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,143,800. The trade was a 24.97% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.