Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) Short Interest Update

Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) saw a large increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,060,000 shares, an increase of 29.1% from the March 31st total of 2,370,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,190,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days. Currently, 3.1% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Golar LNG Stock Performance

Shares of GLNG opened at $25.10 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a PE ratio of -58.37 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $23.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.71. Golar LNG has a one year low of $19.62 and a one year high of $25.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49.

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The shipping company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.40. Golar LNG had a positive return on equity of 11.67% and a negative net margin of 15.68%. The company had revenue of $78.65 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $76.85 million. As a group, analysts expect that Golar LNG will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Golar LNG Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 11th. Golar LNG’s payout ratio is currently -232.55%.

Institutional Trading of Golar LNG

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rubric Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Golar LNG by 0.8% during the third quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 6,506,757 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $157,854,000 after buying an additional 50,000 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Golar LNG by 27.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,427,697 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $107,416,000 after acquiring an additional 965,932 shares during the period. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Golar LNG by 197.1% during the 4th quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 2,716,761 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $62,458,000 after purchasing an additional 1,802,470 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Golar LNG by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,238,512 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $28,473,000 after purchasing an additional 72,672 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Golar LNG during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $23,773,000. 92.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Golar LNG from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday.

Golar LNG Company Profile

Golar LNG Limited designs, owns, and operates marine infrastructure for the liquefaction of natural gas. The company operates through three segments: FLNG, Corporate and Other, and Shipping. It also engages in the regasification, storage, and offloading of liquefied natural gas (LNG); operation of floating liquefaction natural gas (FLNG) vessels; operation of the transportation of LNG carriers; and vessel management.