Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Fearnley Fonds

Fearnley Fonds upgraded shares of Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on GLNG. StockNews.com upgraded Golar LNG to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Golar LNG from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, DNB Markets downgraded Golar LNG from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.13.

Golar LNG Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of GLNG stock opened at $38.30 on Wednesday. Golar LNG has a 1-year low of $23.45 and a 1-year high of $44.36. The company has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 273.59 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.33.

Golar LNG Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. Golar LNG’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 208.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in Golar LNG in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in Golar LNG in the fourth quarter valued at about $61,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new stake in shares of Golar LNG during the 4th quarter worth about $107,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Golar LNG by 116.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,975 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 1,603 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Golar LNG during the 4th quarter worth about $141,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

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.