Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) Plans $0.25 Quarterly Dividend

Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a dividend of 0.25 per share by the shipping company on Monday, November 24th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th.

Golar LNG has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.3%annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 2 years. Golar LNG has a payout ratio of 96.2% indicating that its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings decline. Analysts expect Golar LNG to earn $1.62 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 61.7%.

Golar LNG Price Performance

NASDAQ:GLNG opened at $39.62 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.70. Golar LNG has a 52-week low of $29.56 and a 52-week high of $45.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.47. The company has a market cap of $4.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -565.92 and a beta of 0.29.

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The shipping company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.03). Golar LNG had a positive return on equity of 6.36% and a negative net margin of 2.83%.The company had revenue of $75.67 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.37 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Golar LNG will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Golar LNG by 281.9% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 909 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 671 shares in the last quarter. Old West Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Golar LNG by 22.1% in the 3rd quarter. Old West Investment Management LLC now owns 45,652 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,845,000 after buying an additional 8,255 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Golar LNG by 16.0% in the 3rd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 6,833 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $276,000 after buying an additional 943 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Golar LNG by 17.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 23,134 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $935,000 after acquiring an additional 3,515 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tejara Capital Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Golar LNG by 44.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tejara Capital Ltd now owns 196,526 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $7,942,000 after purchasing an additional 60,093 shares in the last quarter. 92.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.