Viking Fund Management LLC Buys 18,000 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Viking Fund Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 66.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,000 shares of the energy company’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,000 shares during the quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $8,748,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $335,000. MAI Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 4,786 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,165,000 after buying an additional 256 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Cheniere Energy by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,082,872 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $263,701,000 after buying an additional 26,806 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Cheniere Energy by 12.5% in the 2nd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,885 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $703,000 after buying an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in Cheniere Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,059,000. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Cheniere Energy

Here are the key news stories impacting Cheniere Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Global supply shock and higher demand for U.S. LNG: QatarEnergy’s force majeure on LNG contracts and broader Middle East tensions are tightening global supplies, which benefits large U.S. exporters like Cheniere. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street upgrades and higher price targets: Morgan Stanley upgraded Cheniere to overweight with a much higher target, and other banks (Goldman Sachs, BMO) raised price targets and ratings — reinforcing a constructive institutional view driven by supply disruption. See Morgan Stanley coverage here. Article Title Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst EPS revisions: US Capital Advisors materially raised EPS forecasts across 2026–2028 (e.g., FY2026 to $13.53, FY2027 to $16.39), signaling higher expected earnings power that supports valuation. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Executive commentary underscores durable demand: Cheniere’s CEO highlighted at CERAWeek that Middle East instability highlights the need for diversified energy supplies—an endorsement of long-term demand for U.S. LNG. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Positive media attention: Jim Cramer and multiple analyst write-ups are highlighting LNG names (including Cheniere) as beneficiaries of the market squeeze, supporting retail interest but not new fundamental data. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Rising short interest: Short positions increased ~24% in March to ~4.55M shares (~2.2% of shares), indicating a rise in bearish bets that could add volatility if sentiment shifts. (No direct link available.)

Cheniere Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LNG opened at $294.19 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $229.83 and a 200 day moving average of $218.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $186.20 and a 12 month high of $299.49. The company has a market capitalization of $61.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 0.25.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $10.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.90 by $6.78. The firm had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.48 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 32.04% and a net margin of 26.68%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.33 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th were issued a dividend of $0.555 per share. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on LNG shares. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $266.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Cheniere Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $236.00 to $313.00 in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $280.00 to $271.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Wolfe Research set a $220.00 price target on Cheniere Energy and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Cheniere Energy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $277.71.

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.