Wall Street Zen Upgrades Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) to Hold

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. DNB Markets raised Golar LNG from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating on shares of Golar LNG in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Fearnley Fonds upgraded Golar LNG from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Dnb Nor Markets upgraded Golar LNG from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $50.88.

Golar LNG Trading Down 0.6%

GLNG stock traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $41.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,886,744 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,478,211. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.53. Golar LNG has a 1 year low of $29.29 and a 1 year high of $44.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,373.46 and a beta of 0.57.

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The shipping company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.09. Golar LNG had a return on equity of 6.82% and a net margin of 1.04%. The business had revenue of $63.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.90 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Golar LNG will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

Golar LNG Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 3rd were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 3rd. Golar LNG's payout ratio is 3,333.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in Golar LNG during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Golar LNG by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 279,238 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $11,817,000 after acquiring an additional 6,588 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Golar LNG during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,499,000. Terril Brothers Inc. raised its position in Golar LNG by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Terril Brothers Inc. now owns 11,400 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $482,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC raised its position in Golar LNG by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 5,996 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $254,000 after acquiring an additional 534 shares in the last quarter. 92.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.