Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) Lifted to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) to a sell rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning.

GLNG has been the subject of several other reports. B. Riley raised their target price on shares of Golar LNG from $35.50 to $44.50 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. BTIG Research raised their price objective on shares of Golar LNG from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Golar LNG from $43.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Golar LNG from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $49.63.

Golar LNG Stock Performance

GLNG opened at $38.76 on Tuesday. Golar LNG has a 1-year low of $19.94 and a 1-year high of $39.10. The stock has a market cap of $4.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.91 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.28.

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The shipping company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.02). Golar LNG had a net margin of 50.89% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The firm had revenue of $62.98 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.38 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Golar LNG will post 1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Golar LNG Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. Golar LNG’s dividend payout ratio is presently 95.24%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Golar LNG

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. raised its holdings in Golar LNG by 32.0% in the 1st quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 3,586,994 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $86,303,000 after acquiring an additional 870,233 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Golar LNG by 53.7% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,732,655 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $54,319,000 after purchasing an additional 605,499 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Golar LNG by 74.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,015,644 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $24,436,000 after purchasing an additional 433,299 shares during the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Golar LNG during the second quarter worth about $10,554,000. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Golar LNG in the 2nd quarter worth about $5,805,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

Golar LNG Company Profile

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.