Hsbc Holdings PLC Has $206 Million Stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 36.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,059,970 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 281,504 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.50% of Cheniere Energy worth $205,997,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LNG. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted 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 valued at $4,124,870,000 after acquiring an additional 414,022 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,174,695 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,200,299,000 after acquiring an additional 167,622 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $731,774,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,279,078 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $443,031,000 after acquiring an additional 253,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,263,826 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $440,047,000 after purchasing an additional 134,695 shares during the period. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Zach Davis sold 29,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $8,700,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 87,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,143,800. This represents a 24.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 26th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $18,622,720. This represents a 25.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LNG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Cheniere Energy from $280.00 to $271.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted 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. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Cheniere Energy from $325.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, UBS Group set a $290.00 price target on Cheniere Energy in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $297.71.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LNG opened at $227.25 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $246.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $232.06. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $186.20 and a 1-year high of $300.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.62 billion and a P/E ratio of 37.38. 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 issued 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 net margin of 7.23% and a return on equity of 38.95%. The firm had revenue of $5.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 14.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows 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 management believes its shares are undervalued.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.0%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.