Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its stake in Cheniere Energy by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 41,448 shares and ending with 1,560,507 shares valued at about $303.3 million.
• Cheniere reported a huge earnings miss for the latest quarter, posting an EPS of ($16.65) versus the expected $4.25, even as revenue came in above estimates at $5.87 billion.
• The company continues to return capital to shareholders through a quarterly dividend of $0.555 per share and a $10 billion share buyback authorization, while analysts still mostly rate the stock a Buy.

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its position in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,560,507 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 41,448 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.73% of Cheniere Energy worth $303,345,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNG. Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 7.3% during the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 688 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $162,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 3.3% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,488 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Quest Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 6.1% during the third quarter. Quest Investment Management LLC now owns 875 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Hardy Reed LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 2.3% during the third quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 2,279 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $536,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keel Point LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 5.2% during the third quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 1,111 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LNG stock opened at $234.54 on Wednesday. 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 fifty-two week low of $186.20 and a fifty-two week high of $300.89. The stock's 50-day moving average is $262.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $229.12. The firm has a market cap of $49.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.58 and a beta of 0.07.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported ($16.65) earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.57 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 15.2 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $0.555 dividend. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Cheniere Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.51%.

Cheniere Energy declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the energy company to buy up to 21.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LNG has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Cheniere Energy from $338.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Zacks Research raised Cheniere Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Bank of America increased their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $296.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $293.50.

Insider Activity

In other Cheniere Energy 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 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. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 64,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,622,720. The trade was a 25.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

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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