Geode Capital Management LLC Reduces Stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management trimmed its Cheniere Energy stake by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, though it still held nearly 3.88 million shares valued at about $752.6 million at quarter-end.
• Two top executives also sold shares recently: EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares and CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares, reducing their positions by roughly 25% each.
• Cheniere reported a steep earnings miss for the quarter, posting EPS of -$16.65 versus expectations of $4.25, even as revenue came in above estimates at $5.87 billion. The company also has a $10 billion share buyback authorization and recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.555 per share.

Geode Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,882,994 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 95,466 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 1.80% of Cheniere Energy worth $752,597,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LNG. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc purchased a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 250.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 140 shares of the energy company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, AXS Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 64,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,622,720. This trade represents a 25.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 30th. The shares were 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 approximately $26,143,800. This trade represents a 24.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Cheniere Energy Trading Down 2.2%

LNG opened at $224.42 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $47.03 billion, a PE ratio of 36.91 and a beta of 0.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55. The business has a 50 day moving average of $261.11 and a 200-day moving average of $229.40. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $186.20 and a 52 week high of $300.89.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported ($16.65) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.25 by ($20.90). Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 7.23% and a return on equity of 38.95%. The firm had revenue of $5.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.57 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 15.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.555 per share. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Cheniere Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on LNG. Zacks Research upgraded Cheniere Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Cheniere Energy from $338.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Barclays raised their target price on Cheniere Energy from $259.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Benchmark restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $293.50.

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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