Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) Issues Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.08 EPS

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The shipping company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.08), Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $132.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $123.29 million. Golar LNG had a net margin of 16.69% and a return on equity of 6.06%.

Here are the key takeaways from Golar LNG’s conference call:

• Long‑term cash visibility: Golar owns three FLNGs with 20‑year charters and reports an adjusted EBITDA backlog of about $17 billion, forecasting adjusted EBITDA to grow to roughly $800 million annually once the fleet is fully delivered.
• Operational outperformance: Hilli delivered another quarter of 100% economic uptime and Gimi is producing above contracted volumes, providing immediate upside and the potential for further debottlenecking.
• Financing and shareholder returns: Management closed a $1.2bn Gimi refinancing and a $500m 7.5% bond, ended the year with about $1.2bn cash, declared a $0.25 dividend and repurchased/cancelled 3.6m shares, supporting liquidity and returns.
• Near‑term cash and cost risks: Hilli exits its current charter in July for yard upgrades (reducing near‑term cash flow), Mark II still requires substantial remaining CapEx (about $1.1bn spent so far), and management warns of top‑side equipment and yard cost inflation, so new vessel orders are being deferred.

Golar LNG Trading Up 2.8%

Shares of GLNG traded up $1.23 on Friday, hitting $44.46. 629,679 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,207,984. Golar LNG has a 1 year low of $29.56 and a 1 year high of $46.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $40.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.47 and a beta of 0.20.

Golar LNG Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. Golar LNG’s payout ratio is 156.25%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Golar LNG

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Golar LNG by 253.7% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,306,379 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $85,821,000 after acquiring an additional 1,654,353 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC raised its stake in Golar LNG by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 8,149 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $303,000 after acquiring an additional 1,521 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Golar LNG in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,682,000. SummitTX Capital L.P. lifted its stake in Golar LNG by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. now owns 81,844 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $3,045,000 after buying an additional 1,565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in Golar LNG during the 4th quarter valued at about $309,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on GLNG shares. BTIG Research lifted their target price on shares of Golar LNG from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Golar LNG from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Golar LNG from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $56.00 target price on Golar LNG in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Golar LNG in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $50.50.

Golar LNG Company Profile

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.