Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) Trading Up 3.9% – Here’s What Happened

Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) traded up 3.9% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $53.00 and last traded at $52.9510. 1,426,701 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 17% from the average session volume of 1,718,418 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.96.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on GLNG shares. Zacks Research raised Golar LNG from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $56.00 target price on Golar LNG in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Golar LNG in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Golar LNG from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, BTIG Research raised their price target on shares of Golar LNG from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.50.

Golar LNG Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a PE ratio of 82.33 and a beta of 0.18. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $43.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.35.

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The shipping company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.08). Golar LNG had a return on equity of 6.24% and a net margin of 16.69%.The company had revenue of $132.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $123.29 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Golar LNG Limited will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Golar LNG Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Golar LNG’s dividend payout ratio is currently 156.25%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GLNG. Tejara Capital Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Golar LNG by 44.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tejara Capital Ltd now owns 196,526 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $7,942,000 after purchasing an additional 60,093 shares during the period. Permanent Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Golar LNG during the third quarter valued at $2,114,000. King Luther Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in Golar LNG in the third quarter valued at $1,179,000. Huber Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Golar LNG by 12.4% in the third quarter. Huber Capital Management LLC now owns 923,718 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $37,327,000 after acquiring an additional 102,200 shares during the period. Finally, ARS Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Golar LNG by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC now owns 296,059 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $11,964,000 after acquiring an additional 38,040 shares in the last quarter. 92.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Golar LNG

Golar LNG Ltd. is a leading owner and operator of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers and floating infrastructure. The company specializes in the transportation of LNG on long-term and spot charters for major energy firms around the world. In addition to shipping, Golar LNG has broadened its services to include project development and the conversion of existing carriers into Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) and Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) vessels.

Since pioneering the first purpose-built FLNG conversion project, Golar LNG has been at the forefront of offshore gas monetization.