Donald Smith & CO. Inc. Sells 121,481 Shares of Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG)

Key Points

• Donald Smith & CO. Inc. has reduced its stake in Golar LNG by 4.7%, selling 121,481 shares and now holding approximately 2,446,557 shares.
• Several hedge funds have adjusted their positions in Golar LNG, with notable investments including Naria Inc. acquiring a position worth $435 million and Millennium Management increasing its stake by 49.2%.
• Golar LNG reported a quarterly earnings of $0.38 EPS, surpassing estimates, and also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25, yielding 2.5% annually.

Donald Smith & CO. Inc. reduced its position in Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG - Free Report) by 4.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,446,557 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 121,481 shares during the quarter. Golar LNG comprises about 2.3% of Donald Smith & CO. Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. owned approximately 2.34% of Golar LNG worth $92,945,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in Golar LNG by 256.7% during the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 9,050 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $344,000 after buying an additional 6,513 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in shares of Golar LNG by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 120,200 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $5,087,000 after purchasing an additional 8,654 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Golar LNG by 60.2% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 350,858 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $14,848,000 after purchasing an additional 131,887 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Golar LNG by 8,554.0% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 8,654 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 8,554 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,103 shares in the last quarter. 92.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Golar LNG Stock Up 0.7%

NASDAQ:GLNG traded up $0.30 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $40.43. 865,884 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 898,938. The firm has a market cap of $4.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,348.12 and a beta of 0.56. Golar LNG Limited has a twelve month low of $29.56 and a twelve month high of $44.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $41.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.32.

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The shipping company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $63.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.90 million. Golar LNG had a return on equity of 6.82% and a net margin of 1.04%. On average, research analysts expect that Golar LNG Limited will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Golar LNG Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 3rd were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 3rd. Golar LNG's dividend payout ratio is presently 3,333.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GLNG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Golar LNG in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. DNB Markets upgraded Golar LNG from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Golar LNG from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, Dnb Nor Markets upgraded Golar LNG from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Golar LNG currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $53.00.

Golar LNG 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.