Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Purchases Shares of 149,569 Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Key Points

• Brandywine Global Investment Management initiated a new position in Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter, buying 149,569 shares worth about $29.1 million.
• Several Cheniere executives sold shares recently, including CFO Zach Davis and EVP Sean N. Markowitz, while institutional investors still own a large majority of the stock at 87.26%.
• Cheniere reported a big earnings miss for the quarter, posting EPS of -$16.65 versus expectations of $4.25, even though revenue came in above estimates and the company has a $10 billion share buyback authorization in place.

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 149,569 shares of the energy company's stock, valued at approximately $29,075,000. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned 0.07% of Cheniere Energy as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc bought a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. 87.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 87,146 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,143,800. This represents a 24.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

Cheniere Energy Trading Down 0.9%

LNG opened at $236.61 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $49.58 billion and a P/E ratio of 38.92. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $186.20 and a 12 month high of $300.89. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $255.04 and a 200 day moving average of $230.46.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported ($16.65) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.25 by ($20.90). The company had revenue of $5.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.69 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 38.95% and a net margin of 7.23%.The company's revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.57 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 14.93 EPS for the current year.

Cheniere Energy declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the energy company to buy up to 21.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $0.555 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Cheniere Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LNG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price target on Cheniere Energy from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Cheniere Energy from $286.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. UBS Group set a $290.00 target price on Cheniere Energy in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $298.63.

About Cheniere Energy

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.

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