HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC Sells 127,345 Shares of Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG)

HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC lowered its position in Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG - Free Report) by 53.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 110,850 shares of the shipping company's stock after selling 127,345 shares during the period. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC owned about 0.11% of Golar LNG worth $4,691,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Golar LNG by 1.7% during the fourth 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 period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Golar LNG by 56.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 887,842 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $37,573,000 after buying an additional 319,677 shares in the last quarter. Discovery Capital Management LLC CT acquired a new position in shares of Golar LNG in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $17,719,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 131,887 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Golar LNG by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 279,238 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $11,817,000 after acquiring an additional 6,588 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.21% of the company's stock.

Golar LNG Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of Golar LNG stock traded up $0.62 on Wednesday, reaching $39.48. 651,234 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,371,271. Golar LNG Limited has a one year low of $24.42 and a one year high of $44.36. The company has a 50-day moving average of $36.66 and a 200 day moving average of $38.74. The company has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 282.02 and a beta of 0.47.

Golar LNG Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. Golar LNG's dividend payout ratio is presently 208.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Golar LNG to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Golar LNG from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. DNB Markets upgraded Golar LNG from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Dnb Nor Markets raised shares of Golar LNG from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Fearnley Fonds raised shares of Golar LNG from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $49.70.

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.