Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Boosts Position in Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG)

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,238,512 shares of the shipping company’s stock after buying an additional 72,672 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 1.54% of Golar LNG worth $28,473,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rubric Capital Management LP increased its stake in Golar LNG by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 6,506,757 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $157,854,000 after buying an additional 50,000 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 965,932 shares during the period. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. increased its position in 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 valued at $62,458,000 after purchasing an additional 1,802,470 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Golar LNG during the 4th quarter valued at about $23,773,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Golar LNG by 59.1% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 888,096 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $21,545,000 after purchasing an additional 330,059 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on GLNG. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Golar LNG from $28.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Golar LNG from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of Golar LNG from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Golar LNG presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.33.

Golar LNG Stock Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ:GLNG opened at $28.88 on Monday. Golar LNG Limited has a fifty-two week low of $19.62 and a fifty-two week high of $29.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.51 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 1.49. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.89.

Golar LNG Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 10th. Golar LNG’s dividend payout ratio is currently 95.24%.

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.