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 report published on Thursday morning.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on GLNG. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Golar LNG from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. BTIG Research upped 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. B. Riley raised their price objective on shares of Golar LNG from $35.50 to $44.50 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Golar LNG from $43.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $45.10.

Golar LNG Stock Down 0.8 %

Golar LNG stock opened at $34.11 on Thursday. Golar LNG has a 52 week low of $19.94 and a 52 week high of $36.52. The stock has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.49 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $33.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The shipping company reported $0.42 EPS 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 net margin of 50.89% and a return on equity of 9.20%. On average, analysts expect that Golar LNG will post 1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Golar LNG Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. Golar LNG’s payout ratio is presently 95.24%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lifted its position in shares of Golar LNG by 11.1% in the 2nd quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 4,185 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $132,000 after acquiring an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. Beck Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Golar LNG by 0.7% in the second quarter. Beck Capital Management LLC now owns 75,114 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,355,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Golar LNG by 2.9% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 35,580 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,115,000 after purchasing an additional 992 shares in the last quarter. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc boosted its position in shares of Golar LNG by 1.7% in the second quarter. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc now owns 60,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,881,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Golar LNG by 206.2% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,727 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 1,163 shares in the last quarter. 92.21% of the stock is currently 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.