Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG Shares Purchased by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Key Points

• Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its Cheniere Energy stake by 17.2% in the fourth quarter, adding 11,270 shares to bring its total to 76,812 shares valued at about $14.93 million.
• Wall Street remains largely bullish on LNG, with analysts maintaining mostly Buy/Overweight ratings and a consensus price target of $293.50 despite a few target cuts.
• Cheniere posted mixed quarterly results, missing EPS expectations but beating revenue estimates, while also announcing a quarterly dividend and a new $10 billion share buyback authorization.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 17.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 76,812 shares of the energy company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,270 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $14,930,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,219,557 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $4,124,870,000 after purchasing an additional 414,022 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake 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 buying an additional 377,369 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $475,633,000 after buying an additional 359,123 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings 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 valued at $419,824,000 after buying an additional 95,545 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 2.8% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,776,978 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $417,554,000 after buying an additional 47,619 shares in the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on LNG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $338.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. UBS Group set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $280.00 to $271.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target 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 on Thursday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.98, for a total transaction of $6,473,141.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 64,000 shares in the company, valued at $18,622,720. This represents a 25.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 $26,143,800. This represents a 24.97% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

Cheniere Energy Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of NYSE LNG opened at $248.06 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $264.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $227.78. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $186.20 and a 52 week high of $300.89. The stock has a market cap of $51.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.80 and a beta of 0.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.57.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last posted its 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). Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 38.95% and a net margin of 7.23%.The business had revenue of $5.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.57 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 15.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

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

Cheniere Energy announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the energy company to buy up to 21.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.

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