Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC Sells 9,630 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC cut its position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 463,329 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 9,630 shares during the period. Cheniere Energy comprises about 1.2% of Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $90,067,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,219,557 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $4,124,870,000 after purchasing an additional 414,022 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,007,073 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,411,542,000 after acquiring an additional 377,369 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $731,774,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 21.5% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,025,609 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $475,633,000 after acquiring an additional 359,123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,786,636 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $419,824,000 after acquiring an additional 95,545 shares in the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 30th. The stock was 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 approximately $26,143,800. The trade was a 24.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 26th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,622,720. The trade was a 25.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

Cheniere Energy stock opened at $239.07 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.57. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $186.20 and a 52 week high of $300.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.10 billion and a P/E ratio of 39.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $253.88 and a 200-day moving average of $230.67.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) 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). Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 38.95% and a net margin of 7.23%.The business had revenue of $5.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. Cheniere Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 14.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the energy company to reacquire up to 21.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on LNG shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $313.00 to $308.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings cut Cheniere Energy from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $280.00 to $271.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 13th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $296.00 to $322.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $298.63.

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.