Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) Sees Large Volume Increase – Here’s Why

Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 1,628,690 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 1% from the previous session’s volume of 1,617,608 shares.The stock last traded at $49.8870 and had previously closed at $49.76.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $67.00 price objective on shares of Golar LNG in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Golar LNG from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $66.00 target price on Golar LNG and gave the company a “conviction-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Pareto Securities lowered Golar LNG from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Golar LNG from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.70.

Golar LNG Trading Up 0.2%

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.11 and a beta of 0.02. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $50.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.68. The company has a current ratio of 2.57, a quick ratio of 2.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 26th. The shipping company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter. Golar LNG had a return on equity of 6.86% and a net margin of 30.10%.The firm had revenue of $137.55 million during the quarter. As a group, research analysts forecast that Golar LNG Limited will post 0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Golar LNG Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. Golar LNG’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.46%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rubric Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Golar LNG by 2.3% in the second quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 9,178,978 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $378,082,000 after purchasing an additional 203,829 shares during the period. PointState Capital LP raised its stake in Golar LNG by 19.3% during the fourth quarter. PointState Capital LP now owns 3,932,104 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $146,314,000 after purchasing an additional 637,081 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Golar LNG by 253.7% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,306,379 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $85,821,000 after purchasing an additional 1,654,353 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Golar LNG by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,110,671 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $78,538,000 after purchasing an additional 259,915 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Golar LNG by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,914,741 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $78,868,000 after purchasing an additional 26,838 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

About Golar LNG

Golar LNG Ltd. is a leading owner and operator of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers and floating infrastructure. The company specializes in the transportation of LNG on long-term and spot charters for major energy firms around the world. In addition to shipping, Golar LNG has broadened its services to include project development and the conversion of existing carriers into Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) and Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) vessels.

Since pioneering the first purpose-built FLNG conversion project, Golar LNG has been at the forefront of offshore gas monetization.