Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) Hits New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Shares of Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $57.59 and last traded at $57.41, with a volume of 109285 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $56.82.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BTIG Research upped their price objective on Golar LNG from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen cut Golar LNG from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $56.00 price target on Golar LNG in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.13.

Golar LNG Stock Up 0.3%

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a market cap of $5.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 88.79 and a beta of 0.06.

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, February 14th. The shipping company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $132.81 million during the quarter. Golar LNG had a net margin of 16.69% and a return on equity of 6.24%. Sell-side analysts predict that Golar LNG Limited will post 0.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Golar LNG Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. Golar LNG’s payout ratio is 156.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Golar LNG

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Golar LNG by 253.7% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,306,379 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $85,821,000 after purchasing an additional 1,654,353 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in Golar LNG during the third quarter worth approximately $56,574,000. Verbena Value LP purchased a new stake in shares of Golar LNG during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,497,000. Clearline Capital LP lifted its position in shares of Golar LNG by 172.6% during the 4th quarter. Clearline Capital LP now owns 1,067,153 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $39,709,000 after buying an additional 675,744 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PointState Capital LP boosted its holdings in shares of Golar LNG by 19.3% in the 4th quarter. PointState Capital LP now owns 3,932,104 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $146,314,000 after buying an additional 637,081 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

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.