Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,620,000 shares, a decline of 6.7% from the August 15th total of 3,880,000 shares. Currently, 3.9% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,350,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Golar LNG Stock Up 3.2 %

NASDAQ GLNG opened at $33.46 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.87 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $33.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.24. Golar LNG has a one year low of $19.94 and a one year high of $36.52.

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The shipping company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $62.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $67.38 million. Golar LNG had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 50.89%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Golar LNG will post 1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Golar LNG Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. Golar LNG’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 95.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GLNG. StockNews.com cut Golar LNG from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. BTIG Research raised their target price on Golar LNG from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. B. Riley upped their price objective on Golar LNG from $35.50 to $44.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Golar LNG from $43.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Golar LNG from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Golar LNG currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.10.

Institutional Trading of Golar LNG

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Truist Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of Golar LNG during the second quarter valued at $242,000. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Golar LNG by 1,559.3% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,323 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 2,183 shares in the last quarter. Murchinson Ltd. bought a new stake in Golar LNG during the second quarter valued at about $1,301,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Golar LNG during the second quarter valued at about $10,554,000. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Golar LNG during the second quarter valued at approximately $5,805,000. Institutional investors own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

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.