Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eight brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $56.70.

GLNG has been the subject of several research reports. Pareto Securities downgraded Golar LNG from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $67.00 target price on shares of Golar LNG in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $56.00 target price on shares of Golar LNG in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Golar LNG from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Golar LNG in a research note on Thursday.

Institutional Trading of Golar LNG

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rubric Capital Management LP grew its stake in Golar LNG by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 9,178,978 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $378,082,000 after acquiring an additional 203,829 shares during the period. PointState Capital LP grew its stake in shares of Golar LNG by 19.3% during the 4th quarter. PointState Capital LP now owns 3,932,104 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $146,314,000 after buying an additional 637,081 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Golar LNG by 253.7% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,306,379 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $85,821,000 after buying an additional 1,654,353 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Golar LNG by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,110,671 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $78,538,000 after buying an additional 259,915 shares during the period. Finally, Cartenna Capital LP grew its stake in shares of Golar LNG by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. Cartenna Capital LP now owns 1,925,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $77,789,000 after buying an additional 225,000 shares during the period. 92.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Golar LNG Stock Performance

Shares of Golar LNG stock opened at $52.36 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.57 and a quick ratio of 2.55. Golar LNG has a 1 year low of $35.02 and a 1 year high of $57.79. The company has a market capitalization of $5.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.94 and a beta of 0.06. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $53.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.80.

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 26th. The shipping company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Golar LNG had a return on equity of 6.86% and a net margin of 30.10%.The firm had revenue of $137.55 million during the quarter. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Golar LNG will post 0.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Golar LNG Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. Golar LNG’s payout ratio is presently 72.46%.

Golar LNG Company Profile

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.