Royce & Associates LP Cuts Position in Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG)

Royce & Associates LP lessened its holdings in Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG - Free Report) by 11.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,025 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 8,975 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 0.07% of Golar LNG worth $2,736,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Golar LNG in the 4th quarter worth approximately $465,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Golar LNG by 256.7% in the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 9,050 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 6,513 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Golar LNG in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $310,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in Golar LNG by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 120,200 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $5,087,000 after purchasing an additional 8,654 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 131,887 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.21% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Golar LNG in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. DNB Markets upgraded Golar LNG from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $48.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Golar LNG from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, Dnb Nor Markets raised shares of Golar LNG from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $53.00.

Golar LNG Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of GLNG stock opened at $40.54 on Monday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $40.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Golar LNG Limited has a 1 year low of $29.29 and a 1 year high of $44.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,351.78 and a beta of 0.56.

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The shipping company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.09. The business 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Golar LNG Limited will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Golar LNG Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 3rd were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. Golar LNG's payout ratio is currently 3,333.33%.

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.

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