Bank of America Corp DE Grows Stock Position in Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG)

Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG - Free Report) by 100.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 398,473 shares of the shipping company's stock after purchasing an additional 199,351 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.38% of Golar LNG worth $16,863,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GLNG. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new stake in shares of Golar LNG in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $107,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Golar LNG by 116.8% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,975 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 1,603 shares during the last quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Golar LNG in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $141,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Golar LNG by 906.4% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,462 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 3,118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in Golar LNG during the fourth quarter worth $200,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.21% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on GLNG shares. Dnb Nor Markets raised Golar LNG from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Fearnley Fonds raised Golar LNG from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Wall Street Zen raised Golar LNG to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, DNB Markets raised Golar LNG from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Golar LNG has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $49.70.

Golar LNG Stock Performance

Shares of GLNG traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $37.73. 1,944,410 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,450,136. Golar LNG Limited has a 52-week low of $25.33 and a 52-week high of $44.36. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.07. The firm has a market cap of $3.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 269.52 and a beta of 0.62.

Golar LNG Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. Golar LNG's dividend payout ratio is currently 208.33%.

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.