Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $40.57 and last traded at $39.42, with a volume of 408549 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.92.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on GLNG. Fearnley Fonds downgraded Golar LNG from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. StockNews.com raised Golar LNG to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Golar LNG from $55.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Golar LNG has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.63.

Golar LNG Stock Up 11.5 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $36.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.93. The firm has a market cap of $4.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 284.64 and a beta of 0.58.

Golar LNG Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 25th. Golar LNG’s payout ratio is currently 714.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Golar LNG

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Golar LNG by 431.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 185,018 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $6,802,000 after purchasing an additional 150,195 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Golar LNG during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Luxor Capital Group LP bought a new stake in Golar LNG during the third quarter valued at about $10,286,000. Brookfield Corp ON boosted its position in Golar LNG by 180.8% during the third quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 849,959 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $31,244,000 after purchasing an additional 547,253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in Golar LNG by 5.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,920,590 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $70,601,000 after buying an additional 94,336 shares during the last quarter. 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.