First Eagle Investment Management LLC Lowers Stake in Golar LNG Limited $GLNG

First Eagle Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) by 3.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 276,272 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 9,700 shares during the quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Golar LNG were worth $11,380,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GLNG. Savant Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Golar LNG during the second quarter valued at approximately $243,000. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc increased its position in Golar LNG by 28.9% during the 2nd quarter. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc now owns 76,200 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,139,000 after buying an additional 17,081 shares in the last quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. raised its stake in Golar LNG by 0.6% during the second quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 75,925 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,127,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A raised its stake in Golar LNG by 8.5% during the second quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A now owns 6,935 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 545 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Levin Capital Strategies L.P. boosted its holdings in Golar LNG by 8.0% in the second quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 496,819 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $20,464,000 after acquiring an additional 36,770 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

Golar LNG Stock Performance

Shares of GLNG stock opened at $38.42 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $40.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.70. Golar LNG Limited has a 52 week low of $29.56 and a 52 week high of $45.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a PE ratio of -548.78 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The shipping company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.03). Golar LNG had a negative net margin of 2.83% and a positive return on equity of 6.36%. The company had revenue of $75.67 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.37 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Golar LNG Limited will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Golar LNG Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. Golar LNG’s dividend payout ratio is presently -1,428.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GLNG. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Golar LNG in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Golar LNG from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Golar LNG in a report on Monday, September 29th. They set a “buy” rating and a $54.00 price target on the stock. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Golar LNG in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Golar LNG in a research report on Friday, October 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $51.00 price objective on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Golar LNG has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $50.42.

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.