Franklin Resources Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 27.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 563,460 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 208,603 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $109,531,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted 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 worth $4,124,870,000 after purchasing an additional 414,022 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake 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 worth $1,411,542,000 after purchasing an additional 377,369 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $731,774,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 21.5% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,025,609 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $475,633,000 after buying an additional 359,123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,786,636 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $419,824,000 after buying an additional 95,545 shares during the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. UBS Group set a $290.00 price target on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $259.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $298.63.

Cheniere Energy Stock Up 0.9%

Cheniere Energy stock opened at $241.55 on Thursday. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $186.20 and a fifty-two week high of $300.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.57. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $252.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $230.90. The company has a market capitalization of $50.62 billion and a PE ratio of 39.73.

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

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

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

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

Insider Activity at Cheniere Energy

In related news, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of Cheniere Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.98, for a total value of $6,473,141.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 64,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,622,720. This trade represents a 25.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares of Cheniere Energy stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 87,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,143,800. This trade represents a 24.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.