Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC Invests $249,000 in Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG)

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 7,949 shares of the shipping company’s stock, valued at approximately $249,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Golar LNG during the 4th quarter worth about $23,773,000. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. boosted its holdings in Golar LNG by 32.0% in the first quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 3,586,994 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $86,303,000 after acquiring an additional 870,233 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Golar LNG by 53.7% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,732,655 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $54,319,000 after acquiring an additional 605,499 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Golar LNG by 74.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,015,644 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $24,436,000 after acquiring an additional 433,299 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Golar LNG by 115.3% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 305,992 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $9,593,000 after purchasing an additional 163,900 shares during the period. 92.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GLNG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Golar LNG to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Golar LNG from $43.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Golar LNG from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. BTIG Research raised their target price on Golar LNG from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, B. Riley upped their price target on Golar LNG from $35.50 to $44.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.63.

Golar LNG Price Performance

Golar LNG stock opened at $37.50 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.71 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $33.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.36. Golar LNG Limited has a 52 week low of $19.94 and a 52 week high of $37.95.

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

Golar LNG Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. Golar LNG’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 95.24%.

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.