Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) Short Interest Up 20.3% in December

Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) saw a significant increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,730,000 shares, an increase of 20.3% from the December 15th total of 3,100,000 shares. Currently, 4.0% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,230,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GLNG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Golar LNG from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Fearnley Fonds cut shares of Golar LNG from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Golar LNG to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.13.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Golar LNG

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Beck Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Golar LNG by 0.7% during the second quarter. Beck Capital Management LLC now owns 75,114 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,355,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Golar LNG by 105.1% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,372 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 703 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Golar LNG during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Golar LNG by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 7,363 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Golar LNG by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 35,580 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,115,000 after acquiring an additional 992 shares during the period. 92.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Golar LNG Trading Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ GLNG opened at $41.82 on Friday. Golar LNG has a 12 month low of $19.94 and a 12 month high of $44.36. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $40.59 and a 200-day moving average of $36.83. The company has a market cap of $4.37 billion, a PE ratio of 298.74 and a beta of 0.59.

Golar LNG Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 25th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 25th. Golar LNG’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 714.34%.

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.