Brokerages Set Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) PT at $63.00

Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $63.00.

Several brokerages recently commented on GLNG. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Golar LNG in a report on Thursday, May 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $66.00 price target on shares of Golar LNG and gave the stock a “conviction-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Golar LNG from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. BTIG Research lifted their target price on Golar LNG from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Golar LNG from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th.

Golar LNG Price Performance

GLNG stock opened at $51.49 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $50.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.67. The stock has a market cap of $5.22 billion, a PE ratio of 32.18 and a beta of 0.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Golar LNG has a 1 year low of $35.02 and a 1 year high of $57.79.

Golar LNG Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 24th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 24th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Golar LNG’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.50%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Golar LNG

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GLNG. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Golar LNG by 17.0% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,532 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its stake in Golar LNG by 108.5% in the 1st quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 515 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Golar LNG by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,707 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $622,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming grew its holdings in Golar LNG by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 3,878 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $144,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Golar LNG by 2.8% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 17,100 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $704,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares during the period. 92.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Golar LNG

Golar LNG Ltd. is a leading owner and operator of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers and floating infrastructure. The company specializes in the transportation of LNG on long-term and spot charters for major energy firms around the world. In addition to shipping, Golar LNG has broadened its services to include project development and the conversion of existing carriers into Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) and Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) vessels.

Since pioneering the first purpose-built FLNG conversion project, Golar LNG has been at the forefront of offshore gas monetization.