Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Sells 228,700 Shares of Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund trimmed its holdings in shares of Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) by 36.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 393,900 shares of the shipping company’s stock after selling 228,700 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned about 0.38% of Golar LNG worth $12,349,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CenterBook Partners LP grew its holdings in Golar LNG by 84.3% during the 4th quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 101,438 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,332,000 after acquiring an additional 46,393 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position 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 buying an additional 433,299 shares during the last quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Golar LNG during the first quarter valued at about $1,252,000. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Golar LNG during the first quarter valued at about $1,049,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Golar LNG by 171.4% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 98,506 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,370,000 after buying an additional 62,205 shares during the last quarter. 92.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Golar LNG Stock Performance

Shares of Golar LNG stock opened at $38.84 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.99 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 has a 50 day moving average price of $33.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.73. Golar LNG Limited has a 52 week low of $19.94 and a 52 week high of $38.99.

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) last announced 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). Golar LNG had a net margin of 50.89% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The company had revenue of $62.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $67.38 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Golar LNG Limited will post 1.56 EPS for the current year.

Golar LNG Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. Golar LNG’s dividend payout ratio is presently 95.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GLNG has been the subject of several analyst reports. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of Golar LNG from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Golar LNG from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Golar LNG to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased 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. Finally, B. Riley increased their price target on shares of Golar LNG from $35.50 to $44.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.63.

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.