Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 131,843 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Key Points

• Massachusetts Financial Services trimmed its stake in Cheniere Energy by 3.3% in Q4, selling 131,843 shares and ending the quarter with 3,868,476 shares valued at about $751.99 million (roughly 1.8% ownership).
• Cheniere approved a $10.0 billion share buyback, authorizing repurchases of up to 21.1% of its outstanding stock, a signal management views the shares as undervalued.
• Insiders sold material positions in March (EVP Sean Markowitz sold 22,246 shares; CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares, each reducing holdings by ~25%), while the company reported a strong Q4 earnings beat of $10.68 EPS vs. $3.90 expected.

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA cut its holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,868,476 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 131,843 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 1.80% of Cheniere Energy worth $751,993,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Viking Fund Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 66.7% in the fourth quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC now owns 45,000 shares of the energy company's stock worth $8,748,000 after purchasing an additional 18,000 shares during the last quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd grew its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 62.9% in the third quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 777,200 shares of the energy company's stock worth $182,626,000 after purchasing an additional 300,100 shares during the last quarter. M&G PLC grew its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 49.6% in the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 556,285 shares of the energy company's stock worth $130,727,000 after purchasing an additional 184,520 shares during the last quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 35.3% in the third quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 196,819 shares of the energy company's stock worth $46,244,000 after purchasing an additional 51,326 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 12.6% in the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,460,762 shares of the energy company's stock worth $343,250,000 after purchasing an additional 163,861 shares during the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Cheniere Energy from $280.00 to $271.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Weiss Ratings raised Cheniere Energy from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. UBS Group raised their target price on Cheniere Energy from $305.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Cheniere Energy from $266.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $291.88.

Insider Activity at Cheniere Energy

In other Cheniere Energy news, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of Cheniere Energy 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 sale, the executive vice president directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares of Cheniere Energy 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 87,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,143,800. The trade was a 24.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Cheniere Energy stock opened at $265.53 on Friday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $249.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $223.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market cap of $55.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.93 and a beta of 0.14. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $186.20 and a fifty-two week high of $300.89.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $10.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.90 by $6.78. The business had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.48 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 32.04% and a net margin of 26.68%.The business's revenue was up 22.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.33 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th were given a dividend of $0.555 per share. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. Cheniere Energy's payout ratio is presently 9.14%.

Cheniere Energy declared that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management 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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