Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) Stock Rated “Moderate Buy” by Sell-Side Brokerages

Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $64.25.

Several research analysts recently commented on GLNG shares. Pareto Securities upgraded shares of Golar LNG from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $66.00 target price on Golar LNG and gave the stock a “conviction-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. BTIG Research increased their price objective on shares of Golar LNG from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Golar LNG from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Golar LNG from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th.

Golar LNG Price Performance

NASDAQ GLNG opened at $49.61 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a current ratio of 2.34. The company has a market cap of $5.03 billion, a PE ratio of 31.01 and a beta of 0.05. Golar LNG has a 52-week low of $35.02 and a 52-week high of $57.79. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $50.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.50.

Golar LNG Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 24th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 24th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Golar LNG’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.50%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Golar LNG

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Verbena Value LP increased its stake in shares of Golar LNG by 17.0% in the 1st quarter. Verbena Value LP now owns 1,210,402 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $65,495,000 after purchasing an additional 175,802 shares in the last quarter. Two Seas Capital LP raised its position in Golar LNG by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Two Seas Capital LP now owns 1,170,998 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $43,573,000 after acquiring an additional 75,000 shares during the period. Rokos Capital Management LLP acquired a new position in Golar LNG during the first quarter worth $63,293,000. Huber Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Golar LNG by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. Huber Capital Management LLC now owns 1,129,385 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $42,024,000 after purchasing an additional 205,667 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearline Capital LP lifted its holdings in Golar LNG by 172.6% during the fourth quarter. Clearline Capital LP now owns 1,067,153 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $39,709,000 after purchasing an additional 675,744 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

About Golar LNG

Golar LNG Ltd. (NASDAQ: GLNG) is a liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure company focused primarily on floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) solutions. Its business includes the development, ownership and operation of floating facilities that process natural gas offshore, liquefy it for export and transfer the resulting LNG to carriers for delivery to global markets.

The company’s FLNG vessels are converted from large LNG carriers or purpose-built to provide offshore liquefaction capacity.