Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd Has $6.07 Million Stock Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Key Points

• Swiss Life Asset Management cut its Cheniere Energy stake by 50.6% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 31,226 shares valued at about $6.07 million.
• Insider selling was notable, with EVP Sean N. Markowitz and CFO Zach Davis both reducing their holdings in March through share sales totaling more than $15 million.
• Cheniere authorized a $10 billion share buyback and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.555 per share, while analysts remain mostly bullish with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $293.50.

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lessened its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 50.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,226 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 31,937 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $6,070,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LNG. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $142,688,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 2.0% in 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 buying an additional 414,022 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of 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. increased its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 21.5% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,025,609 shares of the energy company's stock worth $475,633,000 after buying an additional 359,123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP increased its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 53.7% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 816,028 shares of the energy company's stock worth $191,750,000 after buying an additional 285,062 shares during the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 64,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,622,720. This trade represents a 25.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,143,800. The trade was a 24.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.55% of the company's stock.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

NYSE:LNG opened at $239.45 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $50.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.38 and a beta of 0.07. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $264.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $227.25. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $186.20 and a one year high of $300.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The energy company reported ($16.65) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.25 by ($20.90). The company had revenue of $5.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 38.95% and a net margin of 7.23%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.57 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 15.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the energy company to reacquire up to 21.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be given a dividend of $0.555 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Cheniere Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on LNG. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $259.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $313.00 to $308.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group set a $290.00 price target on Cheniere Energy in a report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Cheniere Energy from $338.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $293.50.

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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