Donald Smith & CO. Inc. Increases Stake in Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG)

Donald Smith & CO. Inc. lifted its stake in Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) by 197.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,716,761 shares of the shipping company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,802,470 shares during the period. Golar LNG makes up about 1.6% of Donald Smith & CO. Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. owned 3.38% of Golar LNG worth $62,458,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Golar LNG during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Golar LNG in the fourth quarter worth about $117,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of Golar LNG by 26,805.3% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 5,112 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 5,093 shares during the period. Cetera Trust Company N.A purchased a new position in Golar LNG during the fourth quarter valued at $133,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in Golar LNG during the third quarter worth about $201,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

Golar LNG Price Performance

Shares of GLNG traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $24.95. 591,638 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,122,872. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $23.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.70. Golar LNG Limited has a 52-week low of $19.62 and a 52-week high of $25.90. The company has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a P/E ratio of -58.37 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The shipping company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.40. Golar LNG had a positive return on equity of 11.67% and a negative net margin of 15.68%. The company had revenue of $78.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $76.85 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Golar LNG Limited will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Golar LNG Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 11th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.01%. Golar LNG’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -232.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Golar LNG from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday.

Golar LNG Company Profile

Golar LNG Limited designs, owns, and operates marine infrastructure for the liquefaction of natural gas. The company operates through three segments: FLNG, Corporate and Other, and Shipping. It also engages in the regasification, storage, and offloading of liquefied natural gas (LNG); operation of floating liquefaction natural gas (FLNG) vessels; operation of the transportation of LNG carriers; and vessel management.