Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) to a sell rating in a research note released on Tuesday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on GLNG. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Golar LNG from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. BTIG Research boosted their target price on Golar LNG from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Golar LNG from $43.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, B. Riley boosted their price objective on Golar LNG from $35.50 to $44.50 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Golar LNG presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $49.63.

Golar LNG Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GLNG opened at $38.76 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.05 billion, a PE ratio of 36.91 and a beta of 0.58. Golar LNG has a fifty-two week low of $19.94 and a fifty-two week high of $39.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The shipping company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $62.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.38 million. Golar LNG had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 50.89%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Golar LNG will post 1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Golar LNG Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. Golar LNG’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 95.24%.

Institutional Trading of Golar LNG

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CenterBook Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Golar LNG by 84.3% during the fourth quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 101,438 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $2,332,000 after purchasing an additional 46,393 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Golar LNG by 74.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,015,644 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $24,436,000 after buying an additional 433,299 shares during the last quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Golar LNG during the 1st quarter worth $1,252,000. Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Golar LNG in the 1st quarter worth $1,049,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Golar LNG by 171.4% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 98,506 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,370,000 after acquiring an additional 62,205 shares in the last quarter. 92.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.