Short Interest in Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) Increases By 22.8%

Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,220,000 shares, an increase of 22.8% from the May 15th total of 5,880,000 shares. Currently, 8.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,910,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.8 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GLNG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Golar LNG to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Fearnley Fonds raised Golar LNG from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. DNB Markets raised Golar LNG from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $48.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Dnb Nor Markets raised Golar LNG from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Golar LNG in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Golar LNG currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $49.70.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Golar LNG by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 10,354 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $438,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. lifted its holdings in shares of Golar LNG by 5.4% during the first quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 7,115 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Golar LNG by 4.8% during the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 8,515 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $323,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Golar LNG by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 5,995 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Golar LNG by 5.7% during the first quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 7,766 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.21% of the company's stock.

Golar LNG Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GLNG traded down $0.76 on Friday, hitting $41.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 904,464 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,446,940. Golar LNG has a 12 month low of $29.29 and a 12 month high of $44.36. The company has a market capitalization of $4.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,385.80 and a beta of 0.57. The stock's 50-day moving average is $40.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.61. 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 (NASDAQ:GLNG - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. Golar LNG had a return on equity of 6.82% and a net margin of 1.04%. The business had revenue of $63.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $64.90 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Golar LNG will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Golar LNG Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. Golar LNG's dividend 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.