The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 1,056,172 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. $LNG

Key Points

• Manulife reduced its Cheniere Energy stake by 28.6%, selling 1,056,172 shares in the second quarter. It still held 2.63 million shares worth approximately $629.5 million, representing about 1.28% of the company.
• Institutional investors own 87.26% of Cheniere’s shares, while analyst sentiment remains favorable: the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $305.65.
• Cheniere shares opened at $278.35, near their 52-week high, after the company reported 23.5% year-over-year revenue growth despite missing quarterly earnings estimates. The company also maintains a $0.555 quarterly dividend, yielding about 0.8%.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its position in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 28.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,633,763 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 1,056,172 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 1.28% of Cheniere Energy worth $629,497,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $335,000. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 13.3% in the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 8,825 shares of the energy company's stock worth $2,149,000 after purchasing an additional 1,035 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy by 23.1% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 183,153 shares of the energy company's stock worth $44,600,000 after purchasing an additional 34,422 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 103,040 shares of the energy company's stock worth $25,092,000 after purchasing an additional 805 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 87.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 36,502 shares of the energy company's stock worth $8,889,000 after purchasing an additional 16,977 shares during the last quarter. 87.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LNG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Scotiabank upped their price target on Cheniere Energy from $290.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays increased their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $274.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Cheniere Energy from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $283.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $305.65.

Cheniere Energy Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of LNG stock opened at $278.35 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $269.08 and a 200-day moving average of $257.66. The stock has a market cap of $57.49 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.73. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $186.20 and a 52-week high of $300.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The energy company reported $3.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.11 by ($0.09). Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 13.57% and a return on equity of 29.80%. The business had revenue of $5.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $7.30 earnings per share. Cheniere Energy's revenue was up 23.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 16.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 18th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th were given a dividend of $0.555 per share. This represents a $2.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. Cheniere Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.53%.

Cheniere Energy Profile

Cheniere Energy, Inc is a Houston-based energy company focused on the production, liquefaction, transportation and export of liquefied natural gas (LNG). The company purchases natural gas and processes it at its liquefaction facilities before shipping LNG to customers in international markets. Cheniere also provides natural gas pipeline, storage and other services that support its LNG operations.

Cheniere operates the Sabine Pass LNG facility in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, and the Corpus Christi LNG facility in South Texas.

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