Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New Investment in Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 7,317 shares of the shipping company's stock, valued at approximately $310,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in Golar LNG by 5.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,920,590 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $70,601,000 after purchasing an additional 94,336 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Golar LNG by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 279,238 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $11,817,000 after buying an additional 6,588 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Golar LNG by 37.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 218,971 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $8,049,000 after buying an additional 59,188 shares during the period. ARS Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Golar LNG by 1,158.1% during the 4th quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC now owns 213,876 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $9,051,000 after acquiring an additional 196,876 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Golar LNG by 431.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 185,018 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $6,802,000 after acquiring an additional 150,195 shares during the period. 92.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Golar LNG Stock Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ GLNG traded up $0.28 on Tuesday, hitting $37.00. 126,839 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,355,399. Golar LNG Limited has a fifty-two week low of $24.21 and a fifty-two week high of $44.36. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $37.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.77. The company has a market cap of $3.87 billion, a PE ratio of 263.10 and a beta of 0.47.

Golar LNG Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. Golar LNG's payout ratio is currently 208.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. DNB Markets lowered shares of Golar LNG from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Fearnley Fonds raised shares of Golar LNG from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Golar LNG from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Golar LNG to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Golar LNG presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.13.

About Golar LNG

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.