Kerusso Capital Management LLC Buys 4,875 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Kerusso Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 31.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 20,346 shares of the energy company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,875 shares during the quarter. Cheniere Energy comprises 1.8% of Kerusso Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Kerusso Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $3,955,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 6.7% during 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. grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 359,123 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 95,545 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 47,619 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 11.9% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 1,682,831 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $392,537,000 after purchasing an additional 178,316 shares during the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Cheniere Energy

In related news, CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares of Cheniere Energy 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 directly owned 87,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,143,800. This trade represents a 24.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of Cheniere Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.98, for a total value of $6,473,141.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 64,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,622,720. This trade represents a 25.79% 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised their price target on Cheniere Energy from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. UBS Group raised their price target on Cheniere Energy from $305.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Bank of America raised their price target on Cheniere Energy from $296.00 to $322.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Cheniere Energy from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. One equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $295.56.

Cheniere Energy Stock Down 0.1%

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

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $10.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.90 by $6.78. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 32.04% and a net margin of 26.68%.The business had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.48 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.33 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 14.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the energy company to purchase up to 21.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

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

About Cheniere Energy

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.