Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) EVP Sean Markowitz Sells 22,246 Shares

Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) EVP Sean Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.98, for a total transaction of $6,473,141.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 64,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,622,720. This represents a 25.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Cheniere Energy Stock Up 2.1%

LNG opened at $281.55 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $59.18 billion, a PE ratio of 11.59 and a beta of 0.14. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $186.20 and a twelve month high of $300.89. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $241.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $221.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The energy company reported $10.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.90 by $6.78. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 32.04% and a net margin of 26.68%.The company had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.48 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.33 EPS. Cheniere Energy’s revenue was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 6th were given a $0.555 dividend. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.14%.

Cheniere Energy declared that its board has authorized a stock 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 buy up to 21.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Key Headlines Impacting Cheniere Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: Citi upgraded Cheniere and raised its price target to $330 (from $280), keeping a Buy rating — a notable Wall Street vote of confidence that supports further upside. Wall Street Upgrades Cheniere Energy
• Positive Sentiment: Cheniere reported very strong recent operating and financial results (record production, strong distributable cash flow and an earnings beat), which underpin investor confidence and capacity to expand. Q4/Full-Year Results
• Positive Sentiment: Cheniere reached substantial completion on Train 5 of the Corpus Christi Stage 3 project — a capacity/expansion milestone that supports longer‑term export growth. Train 5 Completion
• Positive Sentiment: U.S. LNG exports recently hit record highs as Middle East supply disruptions boost global demand for U.S. cargoes — a structural tailwind for Cheniere as the largest U.S. exporter. US LNG Exports Record
• Neutral Sentiment: Some analysts warn that persistently high LNG prices could eventually erode demand or complicate contracting/expansion dynamics — a longer‑term risk to monitor. High Price Risk
• Neutral Sentiment: Some commentary notes that much of Cheniere’s long‑term benefit from current disruptions may already be priced into the stock, suggesting limited incremental upside absent further tailwinds. Pricing-in Commentary
• Negative Sentiment: Cheniere’s Sabine Pass plant is running reduced flows after an outage on one production unit — a near‑term operational hit that could temper near‑term volumes and revenue. Sabine Pass Outage
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider sales were disclosed recently (EVP Sean Markowitz and CFO Zach Davis sold sizable blocks), which can create short‑term selling pressure or raise governance/ownership questions for some investors. EVP Form 4 CFO Form 4

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on LNG. UBS Group increased their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $305.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Cheniere Energy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $282.00 to $271.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $287.24.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cheniere Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 1.5% during the third quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 3,268 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $768,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,385 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,265,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 688 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $162,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,488 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $350,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 47.6% during the 3rd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 155 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

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.