Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 1,103 Shares of Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) by 20.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,561 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,103 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Golar LNG were worth $249,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Naria Inc. purchased a new position in Golar LNG during the 4th quarter valued at about $435,226,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Golar LNG by 49.2% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,638,045 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $196,282,000 after acquiring an additional 1,529,884 shares during the period. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Golar LNG during the 4th quarter valued at about $55,413,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Golar LNG during the 4th quarter valued at about $24,394,000. Finally, Discovery Capital Management LLC CT purchased a new position in Golar LNG during the 4th quarter valued at about $17,719,000. Institutional investors own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

Golar LNG Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of Golar LNG stock opened at $40.99 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.29 billion, a PE ratio of 1,366.79 and a beta of 0.56. Golar LNG Limited has a 52-week low of $29.29 and a 52-week high of $44.36. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.41.

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 27th. The shipping company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.09. Golar LNG had a net margin of 1.04% and a return on equity of 6.82%. The firm had revenue of $63.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.90 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Golar LNG Limited will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Golar LNG Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. Golar LNG’s payout ratio is 3,333.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GLNG. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Golar LNG from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Golar LNG in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Dnb Nor Markets raised shares of Golar LNG from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, DNB Markets raised shares of Golar LNG from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $53.00.

Golar LNG Profile

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