Golar LNG Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:GLNG)

Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors purchased 5,445 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 88% compared to the average volume of 2,903 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Golar LNG

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in Golar LNG during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in shares of Golar LNG in the fourth quarter valued at about $61,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new stake in shares of Golar LNG in the fourth quarter valued at about $107,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Golar LNG by 116.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,975 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 1,603 shares during the period. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in Golar LNG during the 4th quarter worth approximately $141,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GLNG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Golar LNG from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Golar LNG to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, DNB Markets lowered shares of Golar LNG from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.13.

Golar LNG Price Performance

NASDAQ GLNG opened at $37.20 on Thursday. Golar LNG has a 1-year low of $23.45 and a 1-year high of $44.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 265.73 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $38.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.33.

Golar LNG Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were given 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 yield of 2.69%. Golar LNG’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 208.33%.

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.