Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 3,701 Shares of Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lowered its stake in shares of Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 275,537 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 3,701 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.26% of Golar LNG worth $10,468,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Huntleigh Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Golar LNG by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Huntleigh Advisors Inc. now owns 18,465 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $701,000 after acquiring an additional 1,637 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Golar LNG by 20.2% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,561 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd grew its holdings in Golar LNG by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 249,142 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $9,465,000 after purchasing an additional 5,438 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Golar LNG during the first quarter worth $1,217,000. Finally, Advisor Resource Council acquired a new position in shares of Golar LNG during the 1st quarter valued at about $839,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

Golar LNG Trading Down 1.9%

NASDAQ:GLNG opened at $40.20 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,340.45 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Golar LNG Limited has a 12 month low of $29.29 and a 12 month high of $44.36. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.39.

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The shipping company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.09. Golar LNG had a return on equity of 6.82% and a net margin of 1.04%. The company had revenue of $63.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.90 million. Analysts expect that Golar LNG Limited will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Golar LNG Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 3rd were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 3rd. Golar LNG’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3,333.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

About Golar LNG

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.