Golar LNG Limited $GLNG Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) by 3.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,053,560 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 39,538 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 1.01% of Golar LNG worth $40,025,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in Golar LNG by 4.8% in the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 8,515 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $323,000 after buying an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC increased its holdings in Golar LNG by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 5,995 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $254,000 after buying an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Golar LNG by 358.9% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 647 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. Ion Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Golar LNG by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Ion Asset Management Ltd. now owns 18,865 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $798,000 after buying an additional 959 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Golar LNG by 20.2% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,561 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 1,103 shares in the last quarter. 92.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GLNG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research cut shares of Golar LNG from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Golar LNG in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. B. Riley reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $44.50 target price on shares of Golar LNG in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Golar LNG from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.17.

Golar LNG Stock Up 2.9%

GLNG stock opened at $45.56 on Wednesday. Golar LNG Limited has a 52 week low of $29.56 and a 52 week high of $45.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a P/E ratio of -650.76 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.42.

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The shipping company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.03). Golar LNG had a negative net margin of 2.83% and a positive return on equity of 6.36%. The business had revenue of $75.67 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.37 million. Equities analysts forecast that Golar LNG Limited will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Golar LNG Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 26th. Golar LNG’s dividend payout ratio is currently -1,428.57%.

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.