Allstate Corp Purchases 9,012 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Allstate Corp lifted its position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 114.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,883 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 9,012 shares during the period. Allstate Corp’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $3,282,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in LNG. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $142,688,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,219,557 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $4,124,870,000 after buying an additional 414,022 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 6.7% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 21.5% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP increased its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 53.7% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 816,028 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $191,750,000 after buying an additional 285,062 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LNG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $338.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Cheniere Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Cheniere Energy from $276.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Cheniere Energy from $286.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Two research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $293.50.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

LNG stock opened at $230.96 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $262.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $229.28. The stock has a market cap of $48.40 billion, a PE ratio of 37.99 and a beta of 0.07. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $186.20 and a 1 year high of $300.89.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported ($16.65) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.25 by ($20.90). The firm had revenue of $5.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 38.95% and a net margin of 7.23%.Cheniere Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.57 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 15.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.555 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.51%.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 87,146 shares in the company, valued at $26,143,800. This trade represents a 24.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 64,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,622,720. The trade was a 25.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.55% of the stock is owned by company 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.