Golar LNG Limited $GLNG Shares Sold by Donald Smith & CO. Inc.

Donald Smith & CO. Inc. reduced its holdings in Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,151,627 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 144,624 shares during the quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. owned approximately 2.06% of Golar LNG worth $80,062,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in Golar LNG by 278.2% during the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 658 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Golar LNG by 281.9% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 909 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 671 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in Golar LNG during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Golar LNG by 94.0% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,356 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 657 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amplify Investments LLC increased its stake in Golar LNG by 21.4% during the fourth quarter. Amplify Investments LLC now owns 2,686 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. 92.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GLNG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Golar LNG in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $67.00 price target on shares of Golar LNG in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Pareto Securities lowered Golar LNG from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Golar LNG from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Golar LNG from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.70.

Golar LNG Stock Performance

Golar LNG stock opened at $50.83 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $53.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.15 billion, a PE ratio of 36.83 and a beta of 0.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 2.57 and a current ratio of 2.57. Golar LNG Limited has a one year low of $35.02 and a one year high of $57.79.

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

Golar LNG Dividend Announcement

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

Golar LNG Company Profile

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.