Investors Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG)

Key Points

• Cheniere Energy saw unusually heavy call-option activity, with traders purchasing 15,705 contracts—about 244% above typical volume.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 87.26%, with major investors including California State Teachers Retirement System, State Street, Norges Bank and Wellington Management increasing or initiating positions.
• The stock rose 0.3% to $294.89, near its 12-month high, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $304.35. The company recently reported higher year-over-year revenue but slightly missed quarterly earnings expectations.

Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders acquired 15,705 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 244% compared to the typical volume of 4,572 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cheniere Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 26,965.4% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 102,611,534 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $24,525,183,000 after buying an additional 102,232,409 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Cheniere Energy by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,174,695 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $1,200,299,000 after acquiring an additional 167,622 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $731,774,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Cheniere Energy by 210.1% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,444,403 shares of the energy company's stock worth $584,237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,656,194 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Cheniere Energy by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,279,078 shares of the energy company's stock worth $443,031,000 after purchasing an additional 253,469 shares during the period. 87.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cheniere Energy Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE LNG traded up $0.76 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $294.89. The company had a trading volume of 1,027,199 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,366,616. The stock has a market cap of $60.90 billion and a P/E ratio of 21.97. The company's fifty day moving average price is $262.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $254.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97. Cheniere Energy has a 12 month low of $186.20 and a 12 month high of $300.89.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The energy company reported $3.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.11 by ($0.09). Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 13.57% and a return on equity of 29.80%. The company had revenue of $5.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $7.30 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 23.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Cheniere Energy will post 16.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th were paid a $0.555 dividend. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. Cheniere Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on LNG shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Cheniere Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Wolfe Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Cheniere Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $327.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Cheniere Energy from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $304.35.

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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