Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) Receives Average Rating of "Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Golar LNG Limited has received an average analyst rating of "Buy", with nine firms covering the stock, including three firms giving a strong buy rating.
• The stock's average 12-month target price among analysts is $50.38, while Goldman Sachs has set a target of $54.00.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.5%.

Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Buy" from the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $50.3750.

A number of research analysts recently commented on GLNG shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Golar LNG from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Golar LNG in a report on Monday, September 29th. They set a "buy" rating and a $54.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Golar LNG in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Wall Street Zen raised Golar LNG from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, September 7th. Finally, B. Riley reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $44.50 target price on shares of Golar LNG in a research report on Monday, August 25th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Golar LNG by 230.1% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 18,434 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $759,000 after purchasing an additional 12,850 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC raised its holdings in Golar LNG by 4.8% during the second quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 37,526 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $1,545,000 after buying an additional 1,730 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Golar LNG in the second quarter worth about $147,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Golar LNG by 456.4% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 14,627 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $602,000 after acquiring an additional 11,998 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sourcerock Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Golar LNG by 78.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC now owns 178,149 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $7,338,000 after acquiring an additional 78,055 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.21% of the company's stock.

Golar LNG Stock Performance

Shares of GLNG stock opened at $39.30 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -561.35 and a beta of 0.22. Golar LNG has a 1-year low of $29.56 and a 1-year high of $45.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $41.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.23.

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The shipping company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $75.67 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.37 million. Golar LNG had a positive return on equity of 6.36% and a negative net margin of 2.83%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Golar LNG will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Golar LNG Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 26th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 26th. Golar LNG's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -1,428.57%.

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.

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