Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Lowers Holdings in Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG)

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. trimmed its holdings in shares of Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG - Free Report) by 6.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,378,785 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 98,464 shares during the quarter. Golar LNG makes up approximately 0.8% of Pinnacle Associates Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. owned approximately 1.32% of Golar LNG worth $52,380,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Golar LNG during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $310,000. Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Golar LNG during the 4th quarter worth $286,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Golar LNG by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,093,098 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $46,260,000 after purchasing an additional 18,475 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Golar LNG by 42.0% during the fourth quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 17,097 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $724,000 after buying an additional 5,055 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Golar LNG by 60.2% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 350,858 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $14,848,000 after buying an additional 131,887 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.21% of the company's stock.

Golar LNG Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Golar LNG stock traded down $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $40.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 517,521 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,021,654. The stock has a market cap of $4.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,351.78 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. Golar LNG Limited has a twelve month low of $29.29 and a twelve month high of $44.36. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $40.93 and a 200-day moving average of $39.39.

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The shipping company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $63.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $64.90 million. Golar LNG had a net margin of 1.04% and a return on equity of 6.82%. Research analysts forecast that Golar LNG Limited will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Golar LNG Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 3rd were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.47%. Golar LNG's payout ratio is currently 3,333.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on GLNG shares. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Golar LNG in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Dnb Nor Markets raised Golar LNG from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Golar LNG from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Golar LNG presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price 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.