New York State Common Retirement Fund Grows Stake in FLEX LNG Ltd. (NYSE:FLNG)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of FLEX LNG Ltd. (NYSE:FLNG) by 41.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 98,451 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,000 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in FLEX LNG were worth $2,258,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of FLEX LNG during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. WFA Asset Management Corp increased its stake in shares of FLEX LNG by 106.8% during the fourth quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 2,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,068 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of FLEX LNG by 39.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,348 shares of the company’s stock worth $189,000 after purchasing an additional 2,075 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning purchased a new stake in shares of FLEX LNG during the third quarter worth about $206,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of FLEX LNG during the third quarter worth about $210,000.

FLEX LNG Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE FLNG opened at $21.97 on Friday. FLEX LNG Ltd. has a 12-month low of $20.85 and a 12-month high of $30.48. The stock has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of 10.08 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.99, a quick ratio of 2.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11. The company has a 50-day moving average of $24.36 and a 200 day moving average of $24.87.

FLEX LNG (NYSE:FLNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.06. FLEX LNG had a net margin of 33.03% and a return on equity of 15.61%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.70 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that FLEX LNG Ltd. will post 1.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FLEX LNG Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.65%. FLEX LNG’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 137.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on FLNG shares. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of FLEX LNG in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Fearnley Fonds raised shares of FLEX LNG to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 17th.

FLEX LNG Profile

FLEX LNG Ltd. engages in the seaborne transportation of liquefied natural gas (LPG) through the ownership and operation of LNG carriers. The company was founded by Philip Eystein Fjeld, Trym Tveitnes and Jostein Ueland in September 2006 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda.