Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) Shares Gap Up to $31.49

Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $31.49, but opened at $32.65. Golar LNG shares last traded at $32.68, with a volume of 361,509 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GLNG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BTIG Research increased their price objective on Golar LNG from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Golar LNG from $28.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Golar LNG from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Golar LNG from $34.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. One research 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 MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.75.

Golar LNG Trading Up 5.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The company has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.53 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $27.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.48.

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) last released its earnings results 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. On average, equities analysts expect that Golar LNG Limited will post 1.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Golar LNG Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 3.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 10th. Golar LNG’s payout ratio is presently 95.24%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Golar LNG

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Golar LNG during the 4th quarter worth approximately $117,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in Golar LNG by 26,805.3% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 5,112 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 5,093 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A bought a new stake in Golar LNG in the 4th quarter valued at $133,000. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Golar LNG by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,800 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Golar LNG during the 1st quarter worth about $291,000. 92.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.