The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Acquires 413,744 Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG) by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,270,853 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 413,744 shares during the period. Cheniere Energy makes up about 0.9% of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 2.30% of Cheniere Energy worth $921,503,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LNG. US Bancorp DE raised its position in Cheniere Energy by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 14,804 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,527,000 after acquiring an additional 2,850 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 156.3% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 305 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position in Cheniere Energy by 49.3% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 3,299 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $563,000 after buying an additional 1,089 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $163,000. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Cheniere Energy by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 24,714 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $4,086,000 after buying an additional 2,119 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.26% of the company’s stock.

Cheniere Energy Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of LNG stock opened at $178.19 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $40.32 billion, a PE ratio of 8.68 and a beta of 0.95. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $152.31 and a 1 year high of $187.44. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $180.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $168.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The energy company reported $3.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $2.13. The company had revenue of $3.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.52 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 39.42% and a net margin of 27.05%. Cheniere Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 19.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.61 EPS. Research analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 9.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Cheniere Energy declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, June 17th that permits the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the energy company to purchase up to 9.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on LNG shares. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. TD Cowen increased their price target on Cheniere Energy from $178.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Cheniere Energy from $208.00 to $204.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Cheniere Energy from $194.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cheniere Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $196.25.

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.