Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) Shares Down 2.2%

Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG)’s share price was down 2.2% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $32.59 and last traded at $32.83. Approximately 1,438,746 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 19% from the average daily volume of 1,212,443 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.56.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GLNG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Golar LNG from $34.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. B. Riley raised their price objective on Golar LNG from $35.50 to $44.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Golar LNG from $28.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. BTIG Research raised their price objective on Golar LNG from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Golar LNG from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Golar LNG currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.30.

Golar LNG Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $3.48 billion, a PE ratio of 31.96 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $32.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 28th. The shipping company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.01. Golar LNG had a return on equity of 10.15% and a net margin of 38.11%. The firm had revenue of $63.19 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.27 million. Research analysts forecast that Golar LNG Limited will post 1.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Golar LNG Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. Golar LNG’s payout ratio is 95.24%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Golar LNG

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CenterBook Partners LP lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 46,393 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Golar LNG by 74.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,015,644 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $24,436,000 after acquiring an additional 433,299 shares during the last quarter. 1492 Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Golar LNG during the fourth quarter worth $1,498,000. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Golar LNG during the first quarter worth $1,252,000. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Golar LNG during the first quarter worth $1,049,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

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.