U S Global Investors Inc. Sells 3,000 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

U S Global Investors Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 50.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,000 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 3,000 shares during the quarter. U S Global Investors Inc.’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $583,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 377,369 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted 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 valued at $475,633,000 after buying an additional 359,123 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 5.6% during 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 in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 2.8% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 11.9% during the third quarter. Amundi now owns 1,682,831 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $392,537,000 after acquiring an additional 178,316 shares in the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LNG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Cheniere Energy from $313.00 to $308.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Wolfe Research set a $220.00 price target on Cheniere Energy and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings raised Cheniere Energy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $295.56.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

NYSE LNG opened at $257.29 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $186.20 and a 1-year high of $300.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.59 and a beta of 0.14. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $257.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $224.78.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $10.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business 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 posted $4.33 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 14.1 earnings per share for the current year.

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 $0.555 dividend. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is currently 9.14%.

Cheniere Energy announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the energy company to repurchase up to 21.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cheniere Energy news, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $26,143,800. This represents a 24.97% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.