96,872 Shares in Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) Acquired by First Eagle Investment Management LLC

First Eagle Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 96,872 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,037,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC owned 0.09% of Golar LNG at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GLNG. Seven Eight Capital LP boosted its stake in shares of Golar LNG by 23.3% in the 2nd quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 44,918 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,408,000 after purchasing an additional 8,502 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC bought a new position in Golar LNG during the 2nd quarter valued at about $249,000. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc boosted its position in Golar LNG by 1.7% in the second quarter. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc now owns 60,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,881,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Terril Brothers Inc. bought a new stake in Golar LNG during the second quarter worth about $263,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Golar LNG by 115.3% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 305,992 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $9,593,000 after buying an additional 163,900 shares in the last quarter. 92.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Golar LNG Price Performance

Shares of GLNG stock opened at $34.11 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Golar LNG Limited has a 12 month low of $19.94 and a 12 month high of $36.52. The firm has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.49 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $33.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.82.

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

Golar LNG Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. Golar LNG’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 95.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.