Brokerages Set Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) Price Target at $34.33

Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $41.75.

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Golar LNG from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Golar LNG from $28.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. BTIG Research lifted their target price on Golar LNG from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Golar LNG from $34.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Golar LNG

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GLNG. CenterBook Partners LP grew its stake in Golar LNG by 84.3% in the fourth quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 101,438 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,332,000 after purchasing an additional 46,393 shares in the last quarter. 1492 Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Golar LNG in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,498,000. Rubric Capital Management LP raised its position in Golar LNG by 0.8% during the third quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 6,506,757 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $157,854,000 after acquiring an additional 50,000 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Golar LNG by 59.1% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 888,096 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $21,545,000 after acquiring an additional 330,059 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP grew its position in Golar LNG by 709.8% in the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 157,448 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,620,000 after acquiring an additional 138,006 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

Golar LNG Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GLNG opened at $30.71 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $26.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The stock has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.25 and a beta of 0.61. Golar LNG has a 12 month low of $19.62 and a 12 month high of $31.31.

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 28th. The shipping company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.01. Golar LNG had a return on equity of 10.15% and a net margin of 38.11%. The business had revenue of $63.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $72.27 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Golar LNG will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Golar LNG Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 10th. Golar LNG’s payout ratio is 95.24%.

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.