Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG Shares Bought by Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,800 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 2,100 shares during the period. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $9,681,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Viking Fund Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 66.7% during the 4th quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC now owns 45,000 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $8,748,000 after buying an additional 18,000 shares during the period. M&G PLC boosted its position in Cheniere Energy by 49.6% in the 3rd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 556,285 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $130,727,000 after buying an additional 184,520 shares during the last quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in Cheniere Energy by 35.3% in the 3rd quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 196,819 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $46,244,000 after buying an additional 51,326 shares during the last quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC boosted its position in Cheniere Energy by 38.8% in the 4th quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 56,930 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $11,067,000 after buying an additional 15,927 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in Cheniere Energy by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,460,762 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $343,250,000 after buying an additional 163,861 shares during the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on LNG. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $305.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $338.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $280.00 to $271.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $295.56.

Insider Activity at Cheniere Energy

In related news, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 26th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $18,622,720. This represents a 25.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 87,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,143,800. This trade represents a 24.97% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LNG stock opened at $269.50 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.94. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $186.20 and a one year high of $300.89. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $262.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $226.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.09 and a beta of 0.07.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $10.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.90 by $6.78. The business had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.48 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 32.04% and a net margin of 26.68%.The business’s revenue was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.33 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 13.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th will be given a dividend of $0.555 per share. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.14%.

Cheniere Energy announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the energy company to buy up to 21.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.