Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) Given New $55.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) had its target price lifted by Stifel Nicolaus from $34.00 to $55.00 in a report issued on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the shipping company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on GLNG. StockNews.com lowered shares of Golar LNG from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. BTIG Research increased their price objective on shares of Golar LNG from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Golar LNG from $28.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $39.50.

Golar LNG Price Performance

Shares of GLNG opened at $30.47 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $26.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.96. Golar LNG has a fifty-two week low of $19.62 and a fifty-two week high of $31.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a PE ratio of 29.02 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 1.49.

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 28th. The shipping company reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $63.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.27 million. Golar LNG had a net margin of 38.11% and a return on equity of 10.15%. Equities analysts predict that Golar LNG will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Golar LNG Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Golar LNG’s payout ratio is currently 95.24%.

Institutional Trading of Golar LNG

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Golar LNG by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,800 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Golar LNG by 7.3% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 17,802 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $428,000 after buying an additional 1,208 shares in the last quarter. Intrust Bank NA boosted its holdings in Golar LNG by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 35,203 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $809,000 after buying an additional 1,215 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its holdings in Golar LNG by 3.6% during the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 49,286 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,186,000 after buying an additional 1,715 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Golar LNG by 1.1% during the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 164,189 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,983,000 after buying an additional 1,801 shares in the last quarter. 92.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.