Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,960,000 shares, a decline of 18.2% from the August 31st total of 3,620,000 shares. Currently, 3.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,290,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on GLNG shares. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on Golar LNG from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. B. Riley lifted their price objective on Golar LNG from $35.50 to $44.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Golar LNG from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com raised Golar LNG to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Golar LNG from $43.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.63.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Golar LNG

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Golar LNG during the 2nd quarter worth $45,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Golar LNG by 206.2% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,727 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 1,163 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Golar LNG by 1,559.3% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,323 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 2,183 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise grew its position in shares of Golar LNG by 11.1% in the 2nd quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 4,185 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $132,000 after buying an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lake Hills Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Golar LNG in the 2nd quarter valued at about $212,000. Institutional investors own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

Golar LNG Price Performance

Shares of Golar LNG stock traded up $1.91 during trading on Friday, reaching $37.50. 3,009,809 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,211,239. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.24. Golar LNG has a 1-year low of $19.94 and a 1-year high of $37.95. The company has a market cap of $3.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.71 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $33.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.32.

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The shipping company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $62.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.38 million. Golar LNG had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 50.89%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Golar LNG will post 1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Golar LNG Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. Golar LNG’s dividend payout ratio is currently 95.24%.

Golar LNG Company 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.