Ninety One SA Pty Ltd Cuts Stock Holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Key Points

• Ninety One SA Pty Ltd reduced its stake in Cheniere by 95.2% in Q4, selling 22,573 shares and leaving 1,135 shares valued at $221,000, per its latest 13F filing.
• Cheniere posted a large quarterly EPS beat (EPS $10.68 vs $3.90 expected), and the company approved a $10 billion share buyback (up to 21.1% of shares) while maintaining a quarterly dividend of $0.555.
• Institutional investors own about 87.26% of the stock and analysts hold a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with an average target near $293, alongside several recent price‑target increases.

Ninety One SA Pty Ltd reduced its position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 95.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,135 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 22,573 shares during the period. Ninety One SA Pty Ltd's holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $221,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNG. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 6.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,007,073 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $1,411,542,000 after buying an additional 377,369 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 21.5% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,025,609 shares of the energy company's stock worth $475,633,000 after acquiring an additional 359,123 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,786,636 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $419,824,000 after acquiring an additional 95,545 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,776,978 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $417,554,000 after purchasing an additional 47,619 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 1,682,831 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $392,537,000 after purchasing an additional 178,316 shares in the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Cheniere Energy News

Here are the key news stories impacting Cheniere Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Macroeconomic tailwinds — Middle East tensions and a broader natural‑gas rally are tightening global LNG supply, which increases near‑term demand for U.S. exporters with large-scale capacity and long‑term contracts like Cheniere. Is Cheniere Energy the LNG Stock to Buy on Mideast Tension?
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade — Scotiabank raised its price target on LNG (from $285 to $288) and assigned a "sector outperform" rating, implying upside versus the current price and signaling confidence in Cheniere’s fundamentals. Scotiabank PT raise
• Positive Sentiment: Consensus broker view is constructive — A compilation of brokerage recommendations shows an average rating of "Moderate Buy," supporting demand from institutional buyers. Cheniere Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy"
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage pieces highlight potential rebound in natural gas and name Cheniere as a likely beneficiary, but these are conditional on continued price momentum and geopolitics, so near‑term upside depends on how sustained the rally proves. Natural Gas Looks Ready to Rebound
• Negative Sentiment: JP Morgan downside pressure — JPMorgan cut its price target on LNG despite expecting a strong Q1, which may be weighing on sentiment and contributed to selling pressure today. JPMorgan Lowers Cheniere Energy Price Target

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank increased their price target on Cheniere Energy from $285.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $305.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings raised Cheniere Energy from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Wolfe Research set a $220.00 target price on Cheniere Energy and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $293.00.

Cheniere Energy Stock Down 4.5%

LNG opened at $250.82 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $52.71 billion, a PE ratio of 10.32 and a beta of 0.14. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $186.20 and a twelve month high of $300.89. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $254.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $224.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.90 by $6.78. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 32.04% and a net margin of 26.68%.The company had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.48 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.33 EPS. Cheniere Energy's revenue was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th were paid a $0.555 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Cheniere Energy's payout ratio is currently 9.14%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 87,146 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,143,800. This represents a 24.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 64,000 shares in the company, valued at $18,622,720. The trade was a 25.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

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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