Short Interest in Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) Grows By 46.0%

Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,680,000 shares, an increase of 46.0% from the March 15th total of 3,890,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,630,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.5 days. Currently, 6.5% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GLNG. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Golar LNG by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 10,354 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $438,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC grew its stake 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. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Golar LNG by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,500 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its position in Golar LNG by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 5,996 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $254,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Golar LNG during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. 92.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Golar LNG Trading Up 1.8 %

NASDAQ GLNG traded up $0.69 on Wednesday, reaching $39.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 753,740 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,371,608. The firm has a market cap of $4.13 billion, a PE ratio of 282.52 and a beta of 0.47. Golar LNG has a 52 week low of $24.42 and a 52 week high of $44.36. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $36.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.74.

Golar LNG Announces Dividend

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

Golar LNG Company 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.