KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Raises Holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS boosted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 66.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 140,676 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 56,200 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $27,346,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LNG. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $335,000. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 13.3% in the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 8,825 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,149,000 after purchasing an additional 1,035 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 23.1% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 183,153 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $44,600,000 after purchasing an additional 34,422 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 0.8% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 103,040 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $25,092,000 after purchasing an additional 805 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 87.0% in the second 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. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Cheniere Energy 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 value of $8,700,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 87,146 shares in the company, valued at $26,143,800. This trade represents a 24.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 64,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,622,720. This trade represents a 25.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on LNG. UBS Group raised their target price on Cheniere Energy from $305.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Citigroup raised their target price on Cheniere Energy from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Barclays raised their target price on Cheniere Energy from $259.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings raised Cheniere Energy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $220.00 target price on Cheniere Energy and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $295.56.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LNG opened at $257.11 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $186.20 and a one year high of $300.89. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $256.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $224.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.03 billion, a PE ratio of 10.58 and a beta of 0.14.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $10.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.48 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.33 earnings per share. Cheniere Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 14.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the energy company to purchase up to 21.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 6th were issued a $0.555 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.14%.

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.