Sanctuary Advisors LLC Sells 5,907 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Key Points

• Sanctuary Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Cheniere Energy by 7.3%, selling 5,907 shares and leaving 74,790 shares valued at $14.539 million per its latest 13F filing.
• Company insiders also trimmed positions: CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares at an average $300 (~$8.7M) and EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares at ~$290.98 (~$6.47M), each cutting their holdings by about 25%.
• Analysts have been raising price targets and the consensus rating is a Moderate Buy (average target $295.56), while the board approved a $10.00 billion buyback program to repurchase up to 21.1% of outstanding shares.

Sanctuary Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 74,790 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 5,907 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC's holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $14,539,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Courier Capital LLC lifted its position in Cheniere Energy by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Courier Capital LLC now owns 9,274 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $1,803,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Cheniere Energy by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,219,557 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $4,124,870,000 after purchasing an additional 414,022 shares during the period. Riverbend Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Cheniere Energy by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Riverbend Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,371 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $461,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Cheniere Energy by 39.6% during the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,845 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $1,719,000 after purchasing an additional 2,508 shares during the period. Finally, Kerusso Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Cheniere Energy by 31.5% during the fourth quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC now owns 20,346 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $3,955,000 after purchasing an additional 4,875 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LNG. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $305.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $286.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $295.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $8,700,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 87,146 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,143,800. The trade was a 24.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 26th. The shares were 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

Cheniere Energy Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of LNG stock opened at $259.47 on Tuesday. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $186.20 and a 1 year high of $300.89. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $258.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $225.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $54.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.68 and a beta of 0.14.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $10.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.90 by $6.78. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 26.68% and a return on equity of 32.04%. The firm had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.48 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.33 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 13.97 earnings per share for the current year.

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

About Cheniere Energy

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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