Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $42.30.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GLNG. BTIG Research raised their price target on shares of Golar LNG from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Golar LNG from $34.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Golar LNG from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Golar LNG from $28.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, B. Riley lifted their target price on shares of Golar LNG from $35.50 to $44.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th.

Institutional Trading of Golar LNG

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GLNG. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Golar LNG in the 2nd quarter worth $45,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Golar LNG in the 4th quarter worth $117,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in 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 worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 5,093 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A acquired a new stake in Golar LNG in the 4th quarter worth $133,000. Finally, Lake Hills Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Golar LNG in the 2nd quarter worth $212,000. 92.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Golar LNG Stock Up 6.1 %

Golar LNG stock opened at $36.36 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.62 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.54. 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 has a 1-year low of $19.94 and a 1-year high of $36.46.

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 28th. The shipping company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $63.19 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.27 million. Golar LNG had a net margin of 38.11% and a return on equity of 10.15%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Golar LNG will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Golar LNG Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. Golar LNG’s dividend payout ratio is 95.24%.

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.