Fearnley Fonds Downgrades Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) to Hold

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) was downgraded by analysts at Fearnley Fonds from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Golar LNG from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Golar LNG to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. B. Riley increased 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased 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 issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.63.

Golar LNG Trading Down 3.0 %

GLNG traded down $1.05 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $33.94. 334,111 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,189,487. 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 has a 1 year low of $19.94 and a 1 year high of $39.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $36.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.37. The firm has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.11 and a beta of 0.58.

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The shipping company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.02). Golar LNG had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 50.89%. The business had revenue of $62.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $67.38 million. As a group, analysts expect that Golar LNG will post 1.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GLNG. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Golar LNG by 32.0% in the first quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 3,586,994 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $86,303,000 after purchasing an additional 870,233 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in Golar LNG by 467.9% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,237,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $82,232,000 after acquiring an additional 1,843,100 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Golar LNG by 53.7% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,732,655 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $54,319,000 after acquiring an additional 605,499 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its position in Golar LNG by 4.4% during the second quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 1,500,628 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $47,045,000 after acquiring an additional 63,180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position 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 valued at $24,436,000 after acquiring an additional 433,299 shares in the last quarter. 92.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Golar LNG Company Profile

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.