Pinebridge Investments LLC Invests $785,000 in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Pinebridge Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,037 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $785,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LNG. Viking Fund Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 66.7% during the 4th quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC now owns 45,000 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $8,748,000 after buying an additional 18,000 shares during the last quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 38.8% during the 4th quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 56,930 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $11,067,000 after buying an additional 15,927 shares during the last quarter. M&G PLC increased its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 49.6% during the 3rd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 556,285 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $130,727,000 after buying an additional 184,520 shares during the last quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 35.3% during the 3rd quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 196,819 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $46,244,000 after buying an additional 51,326 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG increased its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 227.7% during the 4th quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 15,505 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $3,014,000 after buying an additional 10,774 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE LNG opened at $239.07 on Wednesday. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $186.20 and a 12-month high of $300.89. The company has a market cap of $50.10 billion and a P/E ratio of 39.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $253.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $230.67.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported ($16.65) earnings per share (EPS) 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 in the prior year, the company posted $1.57 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 14.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 is currently 36.51%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Barclays upped their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $259.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $276.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, UBS Group set a $290.00 price objective on Cheniere Energy in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Two investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $298.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cheniere Energy

In related news, CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 64,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,622,720. This represents a 25.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.