iA Global Asset Management Inc. Has $2.66 Million Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 27.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 13,677 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,952 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $2,659,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 2.0% during the fourth 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 lifted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 6.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,007,073 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,411,542,000 after buying an additional 377,369 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 21.5% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,025,609 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $475,633,000 after buying an additional 359,123 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 5.6% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,786,636 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $419,824,000 after buying an additional 95,545 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 2.8% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,776,978 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $417,554,000 after buying an additional 47,619 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LNG stock opened at $248.06 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $264.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $227.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55. The firm has a market cap of $51.98 billion, a PE ratio of 40.80 and a beta of 0.07. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $186.20 and a 12 month high of $300.89.

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

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LNG. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $276.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $280.00 to $271.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $259.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $293.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 87,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,143,800. This represents a 24.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

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.