FLEX LNG Ltd. (NYSE:FLNG) Short Interest Up 13.5% in August

FLEX LNG Ltd. (NYSE:FLNG) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,270,000 shares, a growth of 13.5% from the August 15th total of 2,000,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 262,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 8.7 days. Currently, 7.5% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FLEX LNG

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FLNG. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in FLEX LNG by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 68,885 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,863,000 after buying an additional 2,585 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of FLEX LNG by 6.3% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 10,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 652 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in FLEX LNG by 7.7% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 11,326 shares of the company’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 806 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in FLEX LNG by 184.6% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 117,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,182,000 after buying an additional 76,321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beck Capital Management LLC increased its stake in FLEX LNG by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Beck Capital Management LLC now owns 111,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,010,000 after buying an additional 911 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of FLEX LNG from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $24.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th.

FLEX LNG Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE FLNG opened at $26.60 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.47 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $26.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.63. FLEX LNG has a 52-week low of $24.16 and a 52-week high of $32.23. The company has a quick ratio of 2.54, a current ratio of 2.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01.

FLEX LNG (NYSE:FLNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 14th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.09. FLEX LNG had a return on equity of 16.79% and a net margin of 32.60%. The business had revenue of $84.70 million during the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that FLEX LNG will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current year.

FLEX LNG Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 29th were given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 29th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.28%. FLEX LNG’s dividend payout ratio is presently 118.11%.

About FLEX LNG

Flex LNG Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the seaborne transportation of liquefied natural gas (LNG) worldwide. The company owns and operates vessels with M-type electronically controlled gas injection LNG carriers; and vessels with generation X dual fuel propulsion systems. Flex LNG Ltd.