Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) Shares Sold by Levin Capital Strategies L.P.

Levin Capital Strategies L.P. trimmed its stake in Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) by 29.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 33,810 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 14,190 shares during the quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P.’s holdings in Golar LNG were worth $777,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rubric Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Golar LNG by 0.8% in the third quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 6,506,757 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $157,854,000 after buying an additional 50,000 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Golar LNG by 27.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,427,697 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $107,416,000 after buying an additional 965,932 shares during the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. lifted its stake in Golar LNG by 197.1% in the fourth quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 2,716,761 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $62,458,000 after buying an additional 1,802,470 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Golar LNG by 59.1% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 888,096 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $21,545,000 after buying an additional 330,059 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake in Golar LNG by 349.0% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 808,265 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $19,609,000 after buying an additional 628,265 shares during the last quarter. 92.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Golar LNG Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GLNG traded up $0.39 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $24.96. 563,663 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,111,671. Golar LNG Limited has a 52 week low of $19.62 and a 52 week high of $25.90. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $23.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The company has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -57.53 and a beta of 0.62.

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The shipping company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.40. Golar LNG had a negative net margin of 15.68% and a positive return on equity of 11.67%. The business had revenue of $78.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $76.85 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Golar LNG Limited will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Golar LNG Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 11th. Golar LNG’s dividend payout ratio is currently -232.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com cut Golar LNG from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th.

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.