Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.25

Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, February 28th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of 0.25 per share by the shipping company on Tuesday, March 18th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th.

Golar LNG has a payout ratio of 100.0% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings tumble. Research analysts expect Golar LNG to earn $1.62 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 61.7%.

Golar LNG Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GLNG traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $38.34. 2,078,664 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,186,445. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.14. The firm has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 273.88 and a beta of 0.55. Golar LNG has a 52-week low of $19.94 and a 52-week high of $44.36.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on GLNG shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Golar LNG from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Golar LNG to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. DNB Markets downgraded Golar LNG from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Fearnley Fonds cut Golar LNG from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Golar LNG has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.13.

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.