Ascent Group LLC Takes Position in Golar LNG Limited $GLNG

Ascent Group LLC acquired a new stake in Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,008 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GLNG. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Golar LNG by 358.9% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 647 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Golar LNG in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Golar LNG during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Golar LNG by 64.6% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 856 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Golar LNG by 20.2% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,561 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 1,103 shares during the last quarter. 92.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GLNG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Golar LNG from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Golar LNG in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Golar LNG from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Golar LNG in a research note on Monday, September 29th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $54.00 target price for the company. Finally, B. Riley reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $44.50 target price on shares of Golar LNG in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $50.38.

Golar LNG Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ GLNG opened at $38.21 on Thursday. Golar LNG Limited has a 12-month low of $29.56 and a 12-month high of $45.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market cap of $3.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -545.78 and a beta of 0.22. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.22.

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The shipping company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $75.67 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.37 million. Equities research analysts expect that Golar LNG Limited will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Golar LNG Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 26th. Golar LNG’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1,428.57%.

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.