OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd Acquires Shares of 2,196 Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

by · The Cerbat Gem

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNGFree Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,196 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $427,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LNG. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter worth 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 worth $2,149,000 after purchasing an additional 1,035 shares during the period. 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 worth $44,600,000 after purchasing an additional 34,422 shares during the period. 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 worth $25,092,000 after purchasing an additional 805 shares during the period. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 87.0% during 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Stock Down 0.1%

LNG opened at $257.29 on Friday. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $186.20 and a 12 month high of $300.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $54.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.59 and a beta of 0.14. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $257.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $224.78.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNGGet Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $10.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.90 by $6.78. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 32.04% and a net margin of 26.68%.The firm had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.48 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 14.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

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

Cheniere Energy declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the energy company to purchase up to 21.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on LNG shares. Scotiabank increased their price target on Cheniere Energy from $285.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Cheniere Energy from $280.00 to $271.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 13th. UBS Group increased their price target on Cheniere Energy from $305.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Cheniere Energy from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Cheniere Energy from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $295.56.

Read Our Latest Analysis on Cheniere Energy

Insider Activity at Cheniere Energy

In other Cheniere Energy news, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 64,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,622,720. This trade represents a 25.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 87,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,143,800. The trade was a 24.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Cheniere Energy

(Free Report)

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.

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