Ninety One UK Ltd Sells 731,310 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Key Points

• Ninety One UK Ltd cut its stake in Cheniere by 45.4% in Q4, selling 731,310 shares and now holds 880,563 shares worth about $171.17 million (0.41% ownership).
• Cheniere beat quarterly EPS estimates ($10.68 vs. $3.90), and its Board approved a $10.0 billion share-repurchase program (up to 21.1% of shares); Wall Street has raised price targets (average target ~$293, with Goldman at $312 and Morgan Stanley at $313).
• Company insiders have been selling recently: EVP Sean Markowitz sold 22,246 shares (~$6.47M) and CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares (~$8.7M), leaving insiders with about 0.26% ownership.

Ninety One UK Ltd cut its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 45.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 880,563 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 731,310 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd owned 0.41% of Cheniere Energy worth $171,173,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc bought a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 250.0% in the third quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 140 shares of the energy company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 47.6% in the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 155 shares of the energy company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key 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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 87,146 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,143,800. The trade was a 24.97% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LNG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $276.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $285.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Cheniere Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $236.00 to $313.00 in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $259.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $293.00.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:LNG opened at $250.82 on Friday. The firm 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 fifty-two week low of $186.20 and a fifty-two week high of $300.89. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $254.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $224.13.

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

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

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors 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 yield of 0.9%. Cheniere Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.14%.

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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