Wall Street Zen Downgrades Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) to Sell

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Golar LNG in a report on Friday, October 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $51.00 target price for the company. B. Riley reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $44.50 target price on shares of Golar LNG in a report on Monday, August 25th. Zacks Research lowered Golar LNG from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Golar LNG in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Golar LNG in a research note on Monday, September 29th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $54.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.42.

Golar LNG Trading Up 2.8%

NASDAQ GLNG opened at $38.09 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.83 and a beta of 0.18. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $38.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Golar LNG has a 52 week low of $29.56 and a 52 week high of $45.98.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rubric Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Golar LNG by 2.3% during the second quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 9,178,978 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $378,082,000 after buying an additional 203,829 shares during the period. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Golar LNG by 73.8% during the 1st quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,276,083 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $86,468,000 after acquiring an additional 966,692 shares in the last quarter. Cartenna Capital LP boosted its position in Golar LNG by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. Cartenna Capital LP now owns 1,925,000 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $77,789,000 after acquiring an additional 225,000 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Golar LNG by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,914,741 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $78,868,000 after acquiring an additional 26,838 shares during the period. Finally, Appian Way Asset Management LP raised its position in shares of Golar LNG by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter. Appian Way Asset Management LP now owns 1,633,582 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $66,013,000 after acquiring an additional 421,375 shares in the last quarter. 92.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Golar LNG

Golar LNG Ltd. is a leading owner and operator of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers and floating infrastructure. The company specializes in the transportation of LNG on long-term and spot charters for major energy firms around the world. In addition to shipping, Golar LNG has broadened its services to include project development and the conversion of existing carriers into Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) and Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) vessels.

Since pioneering the first purpose-built FLNG conversion project, Golar LNG has been at the forefront of offshore gas monetization.