Cibc World Market Inc. Purchases 35,056 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Cibc World Market Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 48.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 108,156 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,056 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc.’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $21,024,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LNG. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,219,557 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $4,124,870,000 after buying an additional 414,022 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 6.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,007,073 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,411,542,000 after buying an additional 377,369 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $731,774,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in 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 worth $475,633,000 after purchasing an additional 359,123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 5.6% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,786,636 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $419,824,000 after acquiring an additional 95,545 shares during the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cheniere Energy Trading Down 0.9%

LNG stock opened at $238.81 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $50.04 billion and a P/E ratio of 39.28. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $256.13 and its 200-day moving average is $230.19. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $186.20 and a 1-year high of $300.89.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported ($16.65) earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 7.23% and a return on equity of 38.95%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.57 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 14.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.555 dividend. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is 36.51%.

Cheniere Energy declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the energy company to repurchase up to 21.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LNG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays upped their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $259.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Benchmark reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. UBS Group set a $290.00 price objective on Cheniere Energy in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Cheniere Energy from $286.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $298.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cheniere Energy 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 sale, the chief financial officer 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 64,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,622,720. This represents a 25.79% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

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.