Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,620,000 shares, a decline of 6.7% from the August 15th total of 3,880,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,350,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days. Currently, 3.9% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Truist Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Golar LNG during the second quarter worth about $242,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Golar LNG by 1,559.3% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,323 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 2,183 shares during the last quarter. Murchinson Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Golar LNG during the second quarter worth $1,301,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Golar LNG during the second quarter valued at $10,554,000. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Golar LNG in the 2nd quarter valued at $5,805,000. 92.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Golar LNG Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ GLNG opened at $32.60 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a PE ratio of 31.05 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Golar LNG has a 12-month low of $19.94 and a 12-month high of $36.52. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.69.

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The shipping company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.02). Golar LNG had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 50.89%. The firm had revenue of $62.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.38 million. As a group, analysts expect that Golar LNG will post 1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Golar LNG Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. Golar LNG’s payout ratio is 95.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Golar LNG from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. BTIG Research lifted their target price on Golar LNG from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Golar LNG from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Golar LNG from $43.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, B. Riley upped their price objective on shares of Golar LNG from $35.50 to $44.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.10.

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.