Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) Upgraded by The Goldman Sachs Group to Strong-Buy Rating

The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on GLNG. Zacks Research raised Golar LNG from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. B. Riley reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $44.50 price target on shares of Golar LNG in a report on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Golar LNG from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $50.38.

Golar LNG Stock Up 0.5%

GLNG stock opened at $40.41 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Golar LNG has a 1 year low of $29.56 and a 1 year high of $45.98. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.14. The firm has a market cap of $4.22 billion, a PE ratio of -577.20 and a beta of 0.42.

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The shipping company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.03). Golar LNG had a positive return on equity of 6.36% and a negative net margin of 2.83%.The business had revenue of $75.67 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.37 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Golar LNG will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Golar LNG Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 26th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 26th. Golar LNG’s dividend payout ratio is presently -1,428.57%.

Institutional Trading of Golar LNG

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GLNG. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Golar LNG by 230.1% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 18,434 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $759,000 after buying an additional 12,850 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC increased its stake in Golar LNG by 4.8% during the second quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 37,526 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $1,545,000 after acquiring an additional 1,730 shares during the period. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Golar LNG in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $147,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of Golar LNG by 456.4% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 14,627 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $602,000 after acquiring an additional 11,998 shares during the period. Finally, Sourcerock Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Golar LNG by 78.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC now owns 178,149 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $7,338,000 after acquiring an additional 78,055 shares during the period. 92.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Golar LNG

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.