Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday after BTIG Research raised their price target on the stock from $36.00 to $45.00. The stock had previously closed at $30.47, but opened at $31.15. BTIG Research currently has a buy rating on the stock. Golar LNG shares last traded at $30.73, with a volume of 254,632 shares trading hands.

GLNG has been the subject of several other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Golar LNG from $28.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Golar LNG from $34.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Golar LNG from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GLNG. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Golar LNG by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 433,439 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $10,515,000 after buying an additional 27,720 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in Golar LNG by 18.9% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 51,107 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $1,240,000 after purchasing an additional 8,120 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in Golar LNG by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 164,189 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $3,983,000 after purchasing an additional 1,801 shares during the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Golar LNG during the 3rd quarter worth $502,000. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in Golar LNG by 79.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 396,674 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $9,623,000 after purchasing an additional 175,348 shares during the last quarter. 92.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Golar LNG Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 1.49. The company has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a PE ratio of 29.25 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.07.

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

Golar LNG Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 10th. Golar LNG’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.