Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG)

Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors purchased 10,160 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 168% compared to the typical daily volume of 3,798 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GLNG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com raised Golar LNG to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. B. Riley upped their price objective on Golar LNG from $35.50 to $44.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Golar LNG from $43.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of Golar LNG from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Golar LNG from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.63.

Golar LNG Stock Performance

NASDAQ GLNG opened at $37.50 on Friday. Golar LNG has a 1 year low of $19.94 and a 1 year high of $37.95. The company has a market capitalization of $3.92 billion, a PE ratio of 35.71 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a fifty day moving average of $33.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.28.

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The shipping company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $62.98 million for 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, analysts expect that Golar LNG will post 1.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Golar LNG Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. Golar LNG’s dividend payout ratio is currently 95.24%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its holdings in Golar LNG by 11.1% in the second quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 4,185 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $132,000 after buying an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. Beck Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Golar LNG by 0.7% in the second quarter. Beck Capital Management LLC now owns 75,114 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,355,000 after buying an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Golar LNG by 2.9% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 35,580 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,115,000 after buying an additional 992 shares in the last quarter. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc increased its holdings in Golar LNG by 1.7% in the second quarter. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc now owns 60,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,881,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Golar LNG by 206.2% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,727 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 1,163 shares in the last quarter. 92.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.