American Century Companies Inc. Increases Holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,776,978 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 47,619 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $417,554,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LNG. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the second quarter valued at $957,425,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 704.3% during the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 952,092 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $231,853,000 after buying an additional 833,723 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $142,688,000. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $107,319,000. Finally, Railway Pension Investments Ltd increased its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 62.9% in the 3rd quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 777,200 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $182,626,000 after acquiring an additional 300,100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of LNG opened at $235.64 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $207.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $216.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.94. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $186.20 and a 1 year high of $246.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.72 billion, a PE ratio of 9.70 and a beta of 0.27.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The energy company reported $10.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.90 by $6.78. The company had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.48 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 33.56% and a net margin of 26.68%.Cheniere Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.33 EPS. Analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in 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 often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th were given a dividend of $0.555 per share. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. Cheniere Energy’s payout ratio is currently 9.14%.

Key Stories Impacting Cheniere Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: Board authorizes a massive share buyback program — management approved up to $10.0 billion in repurchases (about 21.1% of shares), a clear capital-return signal that typically supports the share price. Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Strong 2025 operating and financial results: company reported record LNG exports, a large year-over-year revenue increase and robust quarterly earnings metrics that management highlighted in its 2025 results and guidance. These fundamentals underpin upgraded sentiment. Earnings Release
• Positive Sentiment: Export and contract expansion: U.S. DOE approved a ~12% export increase at Corpus Christi and Cheniere signed long-term sales with CPC (extending contracted revenues), supporting longer-term cash flow visibility. Export Approval CPC Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst bullishness: Barclays raised its price target to $271 (overweight) and TD Cowen raised its target to $255 (buy), reinforcing buy-side momentum. Analyst Coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Growth pipeline progressing: Cheniere has filed for a Stage 4 Corpus Christi expansion and is advancing Sabine Pass projects — positive long-term capacity moves but subject to execution and multi-year timelines. Growth Plans
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed headlines on quarterly metrics: some outlets flagged an EPS miss under certain measures while company releases showed strong adjusted results — the GAAP vs. adjusted framing creates short-term noise for traders. Earnings Coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Tax-credit controversy: Reuters reported Cheniere received a $370M “alternative fuel” tax break for LNG used in tankers, which critics say was intended for much smaller vessels — this could prompt regulatory scrutiny or reputational damage. Tax Break Story

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on LNG. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $284.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $266.00 target price on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Friday, January 16th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Cheniere Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $236.00 price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $262.50.

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.