Prospera Financial Services Inc Has $1.73 Million Position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 36.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,876 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,389 shares during the quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $1,726,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew 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 purchasing an additional 414,022 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew 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 purchasing an additional 377,369 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew 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 purchasing an additional 359,123 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,786,636 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $419,824,000 after purchasing an additional 95,545 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,776,978 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $417,554,000 after purchasing an additional 47,619 shares during the period. 87.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cheniere Energy Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of Cheniere Energy stock opened at $230.96 on Thursday. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $186.20 and a 12-month high of $300.89. The stock has a market cap of $48.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.99 and a beta of 0.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55. The business’s 50 day moving average is $262.38 and its 200-day moving average is $229.28.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 38.95% and a net margin of 7.23%.The company had revenue of $5.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.57 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 15.2 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $0.555 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $2.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Cheniere Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.51%.

Cheniere Energy declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the energy company to repurchase up to 21.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $338.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. UBS Group set a $290.00 price objective on Cheniere Energy in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Weiss Ratings lowered Cheniere Energy from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $293.50.

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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 87,146 shares in the company, valued at $26,143,800. This represents a 24.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Sean N. Markowitz sold 22,246 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 64,000 shares in the company, valued at $18,622,720. The trade was a 25.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.55% 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.