Two Flex LNG executives sold $3m-worth of shares in their company at near-record prices, after exercising their options to acquire the stock.
Flex LNG Management chief executive Oystein Kalleklev exercised options to buy 62,500 shares in the New York and Oslo-listed LNG carrier owner.
He sold all of those shares, leaving him with 50,000 Flex LNG shares and options to buy 187,500 more, Flex LNG said.
Chief financial officer Knut Traaholt exercised 30,000 share options and then sold all of them.
That leaves him with 90,000 share options.
The share moves come as Flex LNG’s stock price on Monday was 9.5% off August’s high of $36.99, which was a record on the New York Stock Exchange.
Clarksons Securities analyst Frode Morkedal told clients on 25 August that the company’s stock could be “capped on the upside”.
That came after Flex LNG decided to pay out a special dividend of $50 per share to investors, on top of a $0.75 regular payout.
“The company has refinanced debt, raised leverage, and returned equity to shareholders,” he wrote. “This indicates that there is no imminent better use of capital. The issue with the stock is that revenues are mostly fixed through 2024, and even longer due to charterers’ options. As a result, we believe earnings have little upside potential.”
In August 2021, Flex LNG granted Kalleklev 250,000 share options, while Traaholt received 120,000. They expire in September 2026 but vest in phases.
In its latest annual report, Flex LNG said the options that vested this September had an exercise price of $14 apiece, although that adjusts for dividend payments.
