Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
Market Information, Holders and Dividend Policy
Our common stock has traded on the NYSE American under the symbol “LNG” since March 24, 2003. As of February 18, 2022, we had 254 million shares of common stock outstanding held by 92 record owners.
In September 2021, Cheniere declared an inaugural quarterly dividend of $0.33 per common share. On January 25, 2022, we declared a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per common share that is payable on February 28, 2022 to shareholders of record as of February 7, 2022. The declaration of dividends is subject to the discretion of our Board, and will depend on Cheniere’s financial condition and other factors deemed relevant by the Board.
Purchase of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers
The following table summarizes stock repurchases for the three months ended December 31, 2021:
Period Total Number of Shares Purchased (1) Average Price Paid Per Share (2) Total Number of Shares Purchased as a Part of Publicly Announced Plans Approximate Dollar Value of Shares That May Yet Be Purchased Under the Plans (3)
October 1 - 31, 2021 22,220 $98.23 17,949 $998,251,447
November 1 - 30, 2021 603 $105.34 — $998,251,447
December 1 - 31, 2021 11,046 $99.94 6,895 $997,572,653
Total 33,869 $98.92 24,844
(1) Includes issued shares surrendered to us by participants in our share-based compensation plans for payment of applicable tax withholdings on the vesting of share-based compensation awards. Associated shares surrendered by participants are repurchased pursuant to terms of the plan and award agreements and not as part of the publicly announced share repurchase plan.
(2) The price paid per share was based on the average trading price of our common stock on the dates on which we repurchased the shares.
(3) On June 3, 2019, we announced that our Board authorized a 3-year, $1 billion share repurchase program. On September 7, 2021, the Board authorized a reset of the share repurchase program to $1.0 billion, inclusive of any amounts remaining under the previous authorization as of September 30, 2021, for an additional three years beginning on October 1, 2021. For additional information, see Note 19— Stockholder ’ s Equity of our Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
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Total Stockholder Return
The following is a customized peer group consisting of 17 companies (the “Peer Group”) that were selected because they are publicly traded companies that have: (1) comparable Global Industries Classification Standards, (2) similar market capitalization, (3) similar enterprise values and (4) similar operating characteristics and capital intensity.
Peer Group
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (APD)
Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC)
Baker Hughes Company (BKR) Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY)
ConocoPhillips (COP) ONEOK, Inc. (OKE)
Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (EPD)
Phillips 66 (PSX)
EOG Resources, Inc. (EOG) Suncor Energy Inc. (SU)
Halliburton Company (HAL) Targa Resources Corp. (TRGP)
Hess Corporation (HES) Valero Energy Corporation (VLO)
Kinder Morgan, Inc. (KMI)
The Williams Companies, Inc. (WMB)
LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (LYB)
The following graph compares the five-year total return on our common stock, the S&P 500 Index and our Peer Group. The graph was constructed on the assumption that $100 was invested in our common stock, the S&P 500 Index and our Peer Group on December 31, 2016 and that any dividends were fully reinvested.
Company / Index 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Cheniere Energy, Inc. $ 100.00 $ 129.95 $ 142.87 $ 147.41 $ 144.90 $ 245.56
S&P 500 Index 100.00 121.82 116.47 153.13 181.29 233.28
Peer Group 100.00 107.02 92.33 112.72 83.18 120.28
ITEM 6. [Reserved]
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