StockNews.com Upgrades Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) to “Sell”

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Thursday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Golar LNG from $43.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. B. Riley lifted their target price on Golar LNG from $35.50 to $44.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Golar LNG from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their price target on shares of Golar LNG from $36.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.10.

Golar LNG Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ GLNG opened at $34.11 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.24. Golar LNG has a 52 week low of $19.94 and a 52 week high of $36.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.49 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $33.19 and its 200 day moving average is $28.82.

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The shipping company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.02). Golar LNG had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 50.89%. The company had revenue of $62.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.38 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Golar LNG will post 1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. increased its position in Golar LNG by 32.0% in the 1st quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 3,586,994 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $86,303,000 after acquiring an additional 870,233 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Golar LNG by 53.7% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,732,655 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $54,319,000 after buying an additional 605,499 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. grew its position in shares of Golar LNG by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 1,500,628 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $47,045,000 after buying an additional 63,180 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Golar LNG by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,238,512 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $28,473,000 after buying an additional 72,672 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Golar LNG during the fourth quarter worth about $23,773,000. Institutional investors own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

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.