Investors Purchase High Volume of Golar LNG Call Options (NASDAQ:GLNG)

Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 7,962 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 120% compared to the average volume of 3,614 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Golar LNG

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GLNG. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Golar LNG by 253.7% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,306,379 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $85,821,000 after purchasing an additional 1,654,353 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Golar LNG during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $56,574,000. Verbena Value LP purchased a new stake in Golar LNG in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,497,000. Clearline Capital LP lifted its holdings in Golar LNG by 172.6% in the 4th quarter. Clearline Capital LP now owns 1,067,153 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $39,709,000 after buying an additional 675,744 shares during the period. Finally, PointState Capital LP grew its position in shares of Golar LNG by 19.3% in the 4th quarter. PointState Capital LP now owns 3,932,104 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $146,314,000 after buying an additional 637,081 shares during the last quarter. 92.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on GLNG shares. BTIG Research upped their price objective on Golar LNG from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Zacks Research raised Golar LNG from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $56.00 target price on Golar LNG in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised Golar LNG from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Golar LNG in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.50.

Golar LNG Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GLNG opened at $53.65 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $5.44 billion, a PE ratio of 83.83 and a beta of 0.11. Golar LNG has a fifty-two week low of $29.56 and a fifty-two week high of $55.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a current ratio of 2.55. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $45.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.05.

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) last issued its earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The shipping company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Golar LNG had a net margin of 16.69% and a return on equity of 6.24%. The firm had revenue of $132.81 million for the quarter. Equities research analysts predict that Golar LNG will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Golar LNG Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. Golar LNG’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 156.25%.

Golar LNG Company Profile

Golar LNG Ltd. is a leading owner and operator of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers and floating infrastructure. The company specializes in the transportation of LNG on long-term and spot charters for major energy firms around the world. In addition to shipping, Golar LNG has broadened its services to include project development and the conversion of existing carriers into Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) and Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) vessels.

Since pioneering the first purpose-built FLNG conversion project, Golar LNG has been at the forefront of offshore gas monetization.