Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Purchases 53,147 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank boosted its stake in Cheniere by 87.4%, purchasing 53,147 shares to own 113,936 shares valued at about $22.15 million (roughly 0.05% of the company).
• Cheniere posted a substantial earnings beat (EPS $10.68 vs. $3.90), announced a $10 billion share-repurchase program (up to 21.1% of shares) and a dividend, and analysts have raised price targets leaving a consensus Moderate Buy rating with a $295.56 target.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 87.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 113,936 shares of the energy company's stock after acquiring an additional 53,147 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned 0.05% of Cheniere Energy worth $22,148,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNG. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd bought a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the third quarter worth $142,688,000. State Street Corp raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 377,369 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 21.5% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,025,609 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $475,633,000 after purchasing an additional 359,123 shares during the period. Railway Pension Investments Ltd raised its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 62.9% in the third quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 777,200 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $182,626,000 after purchasing an additional 300,100 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 53.7% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 816,028 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $191,750,000 after purchasing an additional 285,062 shares during the period. 87.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LNG. 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. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $259.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Cheniere Energy from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $295.56.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

NYSE:LNG opened at $258.33 on Wednesday. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $186.20 and a 52 week high of $300.89. The firm has a market cap of $54.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.63 and a beta of 0.14. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $255.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $224.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $10.68 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.48 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.33 earnings per share. Cheniere Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 14.16 earnings per share for the current year.

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 given a dividend of $0.555 per share. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 6th. Cheniere Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.14%.

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

Insider Transactions at Cheniere Energy

In related news, CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 87,146 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,143,800. This trade represents a 24.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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