Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) Receives $53.00 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $53.00.

Several brokerages have weighed in on GLNG. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating on shares of Golar LNG in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. DNB Markets upgraded Golar LNG from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Golar LNG from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, Dnb Nor Markets upgraded Golar LNG from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd.

Golar LNG Trading Down 0.7%

GLNG traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $40.54. 517,521 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,021,654. The firm's fifty day moving average is $40.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.36. Golar LNG has a 1-year low of $29.29 and a 1-year high of $44.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market cap of $4.24 billion, a PE ratio of 1,351.78 and a beta of 0.56.

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The shipping company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.09. Golar LNG had a return on equity of 6.82% and a net margin of 1.04%. The firm had revenue of $63.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.90 million. Equities analysts forecast 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, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 3rd were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.47%. Golar LNG's payout ratio is currently 3,333.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GLNG. Naria Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Golar LNG in the 4th quarter valued at about $435,226,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Golar LNG by 49.2% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,638,045 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $196,282,000 after acquiring an additional 1,529,884 shares during the last quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Golar LNG in the 4th quarter valued at about $55,413,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC purchased a new position in shares of Golar LNG in the 1st quarter valued at about $44,682,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Golar LNG in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,975,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.21% of the company's stock.

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.