The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $1.22 Billion Holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG - Free Report) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,681,846 shares of the energy company's stock after acquiring an additional 243,418 shares during the period. Cheniere Energy accounts for 1.1% of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company's portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 2.53% of Cheniere Energy worth $1,220,858,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 170.5% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 119 shares of the energy company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 373.1% during the fourth quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 123 shares of the energy company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC lifted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 2,022.2% in the 4th quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 191 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adirondack Trust Co. acquired a new position in Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.26% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Cheniere Energy

In other news, Director G Andrea Botta sold 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.51, for a total transaction of $1,975,590.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 33,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,448,852.34. This represents a 20.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on LNG shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $202.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $255.00 to $247.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $277.00 price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Cheniere Energy from $242.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Cheniere Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $245.15.

Cheniere Energy Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE LNG opened at $233.23 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $221.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $216.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.97 billion, a PE ratio of 16.39 and a beta of 0.67. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $153.03 and a fifty-two week high of $257.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The energy company reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.74 by $1.59. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 37.19%. The business had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.44 billion. Equities analysts expect that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. Cheniere Energy's payout ratio is 14.05%.

About Cheniere Energy

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.

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