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

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) was upgraded by StockNews.com to a “sell” rating in a report released on Wednesday.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on GLNG. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Golar LNG from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Golar LNG from $43.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, B. Riley boosted their price objective on shares of Golar LNG from $35.50 to $44.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.63.

Golar LNG Trading Down 4.3 %

NASDAQ:GLNG traded down $1.57 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $34.88. 1,300,433 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,183,934. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $36.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.03 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.28. Golar LNG has a 12-month low of $19.94 and a 12-month high of $39.40.

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The shipping company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.02). Golar LNG had a net margin of 50.89% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The firm had revenue of $62.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.38 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Golar LNG will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Golar LNG

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. increased its position in Golar LNG by 32.0% during the first 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 last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in 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 worth $54,319,000 after purchasing an additional 605,499 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its stake in Golar LNG by 4.4% in the second quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 1,500,628 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $47,045,000 after purchasing an additional 63,180 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Golar LNG by 74.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,015,644 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $24,436,000 after buying an additional 433,299 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Golar LNG by 11.7% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 348,526 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $10,926,000 after buying an additional 36,389 shares during the last quarter. 92.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.