Martingale Asset Management L P Has $21.51 Million Holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Martingale Asset Management L P grew its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 21.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 110,668 shares of the energy company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,239 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P owned 0.05% of Cheniere Energy worth $21,513,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LNG. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $731,774,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Cheniere Energy by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,219,557 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $4,124,870,000 after acquiring an additional 414,022 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position 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 worth $1,411,542,000 after acquiring an additional 377,369 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Cheniere Energy by 21.5% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,025,609 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $475,633,000 after acquiring an additional 359,123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in Cheniere Energy by 53.7% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 816,028 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $191,750,000 after acquiring an additional 285,062 shares during the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on LNG. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $313.00 to $308.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Zacks Research cut shares of Cheniere Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $259.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, UBS Group set a $290.00 target price on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $298.63.

Cheniere Energy Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of LNG opened at $240.85 on Friday. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $186.20 and a 12 month high of $300.89. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $251.29 and its 200-day moving average is $231.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.47 billion and a PE ratio of 39.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported ($16.65) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.25 by ($20.90). Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 38.95% and a net margin of 7.23%.The business had revenue of $5.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.57 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 14.93 EPS for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.555 dividend. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.51%.

Cheniere Energy declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the energy company to repurchase up to 21.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of Cheniere Energy stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 64,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,622,720. This trade represents a 25.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares of Cheniere Energy stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $26,143,800. This trade represents a 24.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

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.