Norges Bank Acquires Shares of 3,764,462 Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,764,462 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $731,774,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $335,000. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 13.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 8,825 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,149,000 after acquiring an additional 1,035 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 23.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 183,153 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $44,600,000 after acquiring an additional 34,422 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 103,040 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $25,092,000 after acquiring an additional 805 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 87.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 36,502 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $8,889,000 after purchasing an additional 16,977 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheniere Energy

In other Cheniere Energy news, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of Cheniere Energy 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 64,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,622,720. The trade was a 25.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares of Cheniere Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $8,700,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 87,146 shares in the company, valued at $26,143,800. The trade was a 24.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Cheniere Energy Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of Cheniere Energy stock opened at $224.42 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $261.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $229.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The company has a market capitalization of $47.03 billion and a P/E ratio of 36.91. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $186.20 and a 1-year high of $300.89.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported ($16.65) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.25 by ($20.90). The business had revenue of $5.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 7.23% and a return on equity of 38.95%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 15.2 EPS for the current year.

Cheniere Energy announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding 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 a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $0.555 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is presently 36.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LNG. UBS Group set a $290.00 price objective on Cheniere Energy in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $296.00 to $322.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $313.00 to $308.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $338.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cheniere Energy has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $293.50.

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.