Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC Sells 3,089 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC reduced its stake in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 52.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,757 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 3,089 shares during the quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $535,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,219,557 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $4,124,870,000 after purchasing an additional 414,022 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,007,073 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,411,542,000 after purchasing an additional 377,369 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in 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 worth $475,633,000 after purchasing an additional 359,123 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,786,636 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $419,824,000 after purchasing an additional 95,545 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in 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 worth $417,554,000 after buying an additional 47,619 shares in the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cheniere Energy Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of LNG stock opened at $224.42 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.03 billion, a PE ratio of 36.91 and a beta of 0.07. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $261.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $229.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.57. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $186.20 and a 52-week high of $300.89.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The energy company reported ($16.65) earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $5.69 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 7.23% and a return on equity of 38.95%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.57 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 15.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the energy company to buy up to 21.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given 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 (DPR) is presently 36.51%.

Insider Transactions at Cheniere Energy

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 transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 64,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,622,720. The trade was a 25.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group set a $290.00 price target on Cheniere Energy in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Cheniere Energy from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Cheniere Energy from $286.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Cheniere Energy from $275.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Cheniere Energy from $259.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Cheniere Energy has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $293.50.

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.