Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) Shares Bought by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its ownership in Cheniere Energy by 0.3%, acquiring an additional 54,801 shares, bringing its total holdings to approximately 20.9 million shares valued at around $4.84 billion.
• Cheniere Energy reported $7.30 earnings per share for the last quarter, significantly exceeding the consensus estimate of $2.35, with a revenue of $4.64 billion, a 42.8% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, reflecting a 0.9% dividend yield, with an ex-dividend date set for August 8th.

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 0.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,937,749 shares of the energy company's stock after buying an additional 54,801 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 9.40% of Cheniere Energy worth $4,844,995,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 12.7% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,185,605 shares of the energy company's stock worth $737,149,000 after buying an additional 359,435 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 2.8% during the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 816,544 shares of the energy company's stock worth $188,948,000 after buying an additional 22,354 shares in the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 22.0% during the first quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 1,447 shares of the energy company's stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 10.3% in the first quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 7,734 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $1,790,000 after purchasing an additional 720 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 326.9% in the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 3,586 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $830,000 after purchasing an additional 2,746 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on LNG shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $255.00 to $247.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Cheniere Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Cheniere Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Friday. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $260.71.

Cheniere Energy Trading Down 1.9%

LNG stock traded down $4.43 on Friday, hitting $230.84. 2,356,085 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,208,187. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $175.14 and a twelve month high of $257.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The business's fifty day moving average is $235.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $228.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.48 and a beta of 0.43.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The energy company reported $7.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $4.95. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 21.05% and a return on equity of 39.21%. The firm had revenue of $4.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.48 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.84 earnings per share. Cheniere Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 42.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Cheniere Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.63%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Neal A. Shear sold 4,300 shares of Cheniere Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.93, for a total transaction of $1,057,499.00. Following the sale, the director owned 29,733 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,312,236.69. The trade was a 12.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Cheniere Energy Profile

Cheniere Energy, Inc, an energy infrastructure company, primarily engages in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) related businesses in the United States. It owns and operates the Sabine Pass LNG terminal in Cameron Parish, Louisiana; and the Corpus Christi LNG terminal near Corpus Christi, Texas. The company also owns Creole Trail pipeline, a 94-mile natural gas supply pipeline that interconnects the Sabine Pass LNG Terminal with several interstate and intrastate pipelines; and operates Corpus Christi pipeline, a 21.5-mile natural gas supply pipeline that interconnects the Corpus Christi LNG terminal with various interstate and intrastate natural gas pipelines.