Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $50.13.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Golar LNG from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. StockNews.com raised Golar LNG to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Fearnley Fonds downgraded Golar LNG from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th.

Institutional Trading of Golar LNG

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GLNG. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Golar LNG by 431.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 185,018 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $6,802,000 after acquiring an additional 150,195 shares during the period. De Lisle Partners LLP raised its holdings in shares of Golar LNG by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 249,390 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $9,169,000 after buying an additional 20,890 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its holdings in shares of Golar LNG by 467.9% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,237,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $82,232,000 after buying an additional 1,843,100 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP increased its holdings in Golar LNG by 102.5% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 81,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $2,978,000 after purchasing an additional 41,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in Golar LNG by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 639,813 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $23,520,000 after purchasing an additional 114,531 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

Golar LNG Price Performance

Shares of GLNG stock opened at $38.99 on Wednesday. Golar LNG has a fifty-two week low of $19.94 and a fifty-two week high of $44.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $41.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.20. The firm has a market cap of $4.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 278.52 and a beta of 0.59.

Golar LNG Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 25th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. Golar LNG’s payout ratio is 714.34%.

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.