Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG Shares Sold by DJE Kapital AG

Key Points

• DJE Kapital AG sharply reduced its Cheniere Energy stake by 97.7% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 2,910 shares worth about $560,000.
• Cheniere reported a large earnings miss for the quarter, posting $(16.65) EPS versus estimates of $4.25, even though revenue of $5.87 billion came in above expectations and rose 7.8% year over year.
• The company continues to return capital to shareholders through a quarterly dividend and a $10 billion share repurchase authorization, while analysts remain broadly positive with an average rating of “Buy” and a target price near $298.63.

DJE Kapital AG trimmed its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 97.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,910 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 125,116 shares during the quarter. DJE Kapital AG's holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $560,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LNG. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter worth $335,000. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in 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. grew its stake in 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 grew its stake in 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 grew its stake in 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 owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LNG has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group set a $290.00 target price on Cheniere Energy in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $286.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $313.00 to $308.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $298.63.

Cheniere Energy Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE:LNG opened at $239.78 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $251.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $231.14. The stock has a market cap of $50.25 billion and a P/E ratio of 39.44. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $186.20 and a 1 year high of $300.89. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported ($16.65) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.25 by ($20.90). The business had revenue of $5.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.57 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 14.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $0.555 dividend. 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 36.51%.

Cheniere Energy announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the energy company to repurchase up to 21.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Cheniere Energy

In related news, CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 87,146 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,143,800. This represents a 24.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of the company'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 sale, the executive vice president directly 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.

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