Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG Shares Sold by Flputnam Investment Management Co.

Flputnam Investment Management Co. lessened its stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 27.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 61,075 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 23,384 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $11,872,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 2.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 414,022 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 359,123 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 95,545 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 47,619 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $8,700,000.00. Following the completion of 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. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $276.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. UBS Group set a $290.00 price target on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $286.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Two equities research analysts have 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, Cheniere Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $293.50.

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:LNG opened at $234.54 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market cap of $49.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.58 and a beta of 0.07. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $186.20 and a fifty-two week high of $300.89. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $262.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $229.12.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported ($16.65) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.25 by ($20.90). The company had revenue of $5.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.57 EPS. Analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 15.2 EPS for the current year.

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

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid 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 was Monday, May 11th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.51%.

Cheniere Energy 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.