Flex LNG (NYSE:FLNG) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Flex LNG Ltd. (NYSE:FLNG) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $28.20 and last traded at $28.1160, with a volume of 691792 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.32.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on FLNG shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Flex LNG in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Flex LNG from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Flex LNG currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.00.

Flex LNG Price Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.86. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 3.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.42. The stock has a market cap of $1.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.20 and a beta of 0.31.

Flex LNG (NYSE:FLNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $87.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.75 million. Flex LNG had a net margin of 21.52% and a return on equity of 13.46%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Flex LNG Ltd. will post 1.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Flex LNG Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. Flex LNG’s dividend payout ratio is 215.83%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FLNG. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Flex LNG by 21.4% during the third quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 381,427 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,612,000 after purchasing an additional 67,139 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in Flex LNG during the second quarter valued at about $545,000. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of Flex LNG by 154.7% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 65,747 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,445,000 after buying an additional 39,931 shares during the period. DNB Asset Management AS purchased a new position in shares of Flex LNG in the second quarter worth approximately $369,000. Finally, Tred Avon Family Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Flex LNG during the third quarter valued at approximately $697,000.

Flex LNG Company Profile

Flex LNG Ltd is a Bermuda-registered owner and operator of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, offering shipping services to major energy producers and utilities worldwide. Since its establishment in 2006, the company has focused on building a versatile fleet of modern, eco-efficient LNG vessels designed to meet the growing global demand for lower-emission fuel transportation.

The company’s core activities encompass time-charter contracts, long-term transportation agreements and spot market voyages.