Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Purchases 509,256 Shares of Golar LNG Limited $GLNG

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its position in shares of Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) by 1,114.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 554,943 shares of the shipping company’s stock after purchasing an additional 509,256 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned approximately 0.55% of Golar LNG worth $30,028,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rubric Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Golar LNG by 2.3% during the second quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 9,178,978 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $378,082,000 after buying an additional 203,829 shares during the period. PointState Capital LP increased its stake in Golar LNG by 19.3% in the 4th quarter. PointState Capital LP now owns 3,932,104 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $146,314,000 after acquiring an additional 637,081 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Golar LNG by 253.7% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,306,379 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $85,821,000 after acquiring an additional 1,654,353 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Golar LNG by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,110,671 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $78,538,000 after acquiring an additional 259,915 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Golar LNG by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,914,741 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $78,868,000 after acquiring an additional 26,838 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

Golar LNG Stock Performance

GLNG stock opened at $48.62 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.93 billion, a PE ratio of 35.23 and a beta of 0.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 2.57 and a current ratio of 2.57. Golar LNG Limited has a one year low of $35.02 and a one year high of $57.79. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $50.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.76.

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 26th. The shipping company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $137.55 million during the quarter. Golar LNG had a net margin of 30.10% and a return on equity of 6.86%. As a group, analysts predict that Golar LNG Limited will post 0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Golar LNG Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. Golar LNG’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GLNG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Golar LNG in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Golar LNG from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. Pareto Securities downgraded shares of Golar LNG from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $67.00 target price on shares of Golar LNG in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Golar LNG from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.70.

About Golar LNG

Golar LNG Ltd. is a leading owner and operator of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers and floating infrastructure. The company specializes in the transportation of LNG on long-term and spot charters for major energy firms around the world. In addition to shipping, Golar LNG has broadened its services to include project development and the conversion of existing carriers into Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) and Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) vessels.

Since pioneering the first purpose-built FLNG conversion project, Golar LNG has been at the forefront of offshore gas monetization.