Victory Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Key Points

• Victory Capital Management increased its Cheniere Energy stake by 12.5% in the fourth quarter, ending with 2.28 million shares valued at about $443 million. Other institutional investors also raised holdings, and hedge funds now own 87.26% of the stock.
• Two top executives sold shares in late March: EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares and CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares, reducing their direct ownership positions by roughly 26% and 25%, respectively.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on Cheniere Energy, with an average Moderate Buy rating and a consensus price target of $298.63. The company also authorized a $10 billion share repurchase plan and recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.555 per share.

Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 12.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,279,078 shares of the energy company's stock after purchasing an additional 253,469 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 1.06% of Cheniere Energy worth $443,031,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LNG. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 40.5% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 23,009 shares of the energy company's stock worth $4,473,000 after buying an additional 6,638 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P boosted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 110,668 shares of the energy company's stock worth $21,513,000 after buying an additional 19,239 shares during the period. Milford Funds Ltd. purchased a new position in Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter worth $11,407,000. Polymer Capital Management HK LTD purchased a new position in Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter worth $213,000. Finally, Korea Investment CORP boosted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 225,595 shares of the energy company's stock worth $43,853,000 after buying an additional 24,187 shares during the period. 87.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of Cheniere Energy stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 64,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,622,720. The trade was a 25.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $8,700,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 87,146 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,143,800. This represents a 24.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Cheniere Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $298.63.

Cheniere Energy Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE:LNG opened at $240.85 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.47 billion and a PE ratio of 39.61. The firm's 50 day moving average is $251.29 and its 200 day moving average is $231.21. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $186.20 and a 12 month high of $300.89.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported ($16.65) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.25 by ($20.90). The company had revenue of $5.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 38.95% and a net margin of 7.23%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 14.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the energy company to purchase up to 21.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.555 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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%.

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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