Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Reduces Holdings in Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund reduced its stake in shares of Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG - Free Report) by 36.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund 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 0.38% of Golar LNG worth $12,349,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lifted its stake in shares of Golar LNG by 11.1% in the second quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 4,185 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $132,000 after acquiring an additional 417 shares during the period. Beck Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Golar LNG by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Beck Capital Management LLC now owns 75,114 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $2,355,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Golar LNG by 2.9% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 35,580 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $1,115,000 after buying an additional 992 shares during the period. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc raised its stake in Golar LNG by 1.7% during the second quarter. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc now owns 60,000 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $1,881,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Golar LNG by 206.2% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,727 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 1,163 shares during the period. 92.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Golar LNG Stock Performance

Shares of GLNG stock traded down $0.25 during trading on Friday, hitting $38.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 506,217 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,221,075. The business has a fifty day moving average of $33.54 and a 200-day moving average of $29.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Golar LNG Limited has a 52 week low of $19.94 and a 52 week high of $39.00. The company has a market cap of $4.04 billion, a PE ratio of 36.99 and a beta of 0.58.

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The shipping company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $62.98 million during 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, research analysts anticipate that Golar LNG Limited will post 1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Golar LNG Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. Golar LNG's payout ratio is presently 95.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on GLNG. StockNews.com upgraded Golar LNG to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Golar LNG from $43.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Golar LNG from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. BTIG Research boosted their target price on Golar LNG from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, B. Riley raised their price objective on Golar LNG from $35.50 to $44.50 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Golar LNG presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.