Golar LNG Limited $GLNG Shares Sold by American Century Companies Inc.

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. has significantly reduced its stake in Golar LNG Limited by 95.8%, selling over 1 million shares and leaving it with 48,941 shares valued at approximately $1.86 million.
• Despite the decrease in stake by some investors, others like Sit Investment Associates Inc. and Arrowpoint Investment Partners increased their holdings, demonstrating mixed sentiments among institutional investors.
• The company reported a quarterly loss with an EPS of $0.26, missing analysts' expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, reflecting a significant payout ratio.

American Century Companies Inc. reduced its position in Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG - Free Report) by 95.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,941 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 1,115,901 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.'s holdings in Golar LNG were worth $1,859,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Golar LNG by 358.9% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 647 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. Numerai GP LLC bought a new stake in Golar LNG during the fourth quarter worth approximately $245,000. 111 Capital bought a new stake in Golar LNG during the fourth quarter worth approximately $248,000. Mariner LLC increased its stake in Golar LNG by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 5,995 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $254,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Golar LNG by 20.2% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,561 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 1,103 shares during the last quarter. 92.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Golar LNG Price Performance

GLNG stock traded up $0.37 during trading on Friday, hitting $44.22. The stock had a trading volume of 889,491 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,255,371. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Golar LNG Limited has a twelve month low of $29.56 and a twelve month high of $45.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -631.62 and a beta of 0.42. The company's 50-day moving average price is $41.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.60.

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The shipping company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.03). Golar LNG had a positive return on equity of 6.36% and a negative net margin of 2.83%.The firm had revenue of $75.67 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.37 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Golar LNG Limited will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Golar LNG Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 26th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 26th. Golar LNG's payout ratio is presently -1,428.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on GLNG. Zacks Research cut Golar LNG from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen cut Golar LNG from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 30th. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Golar LNG in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, B. Riley reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $44.50 price objective on shares of Golar LNG in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $49.17.

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.