Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) Shares Acquired by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) by 2.9% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 35,580 shares of the shipping company’s stock after acquiring an additional 992 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Golar LNG were worth $1,115,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise grew its holdings in Golar LNG by 11.1% during the 2nd quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 4,185 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. Beck Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Golar LNG by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Beck Capital Management LLC now owns 75,114 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,355,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc boosted its stake in Golar LNG by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc now owns 60,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,881,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Golar LNG by 206.2% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,727 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 1,163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Golar LNG by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 17,802 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $428,000 after acquiring an additional 1,208 shares during the last quarter. 92.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GLNG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Golar LNG from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. B. Riley increased their price objective on shares of Golar LNG from $35.50 to $44.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Golar LNG from $43.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Golar LNG to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, BTIG Research increased their price objective on shares of Golar LNG from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.63.

Golar LNG Trading Up 2.3 %

Golar LNG stock opened at $38.96 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.10 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $34.05 and its 200-day moving average is $30.33. Golar LNG Limited has a 1 year low of $19.94 and a 1 year high of $39.10. 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 (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 the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $62.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.38 million. Golar LNG had a net margin of 50.89% and a return on equity of 9.20%. On average, equities analysts expect that Golar LNG Limited will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Golar LNG Announces Dividend

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 $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.57%. Golar LNG’s dividend payout ratio is presently 95.24%.

About Golar LNG

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.