Yahoo Finance Analyst Forecasts Just Became More Bearish On Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG)
Today is shaping up negative for Golar LNG Limited (NASDAQ:GLNG) shareholders, with the analysts delivering a substantial negative revision to this year's forecasts. This report focused on revenue estimates, and it looks as though the consensus view of the business has become substantially more conservative.
Following the latest downgrade, the current consensus, from the seven analysts covering Golar LNG, is for revenues of US$274m in 2024, which would reflect a noticeable 5.3% reduction in Golar LNG's sales over the past 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are presumed to jump 66% to US$1.76. Previously, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$306m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$1.76 in 2024. So there's been a clear change in analyst sentiment in the recent update, with the analysts making a measurable cut to revenues and reconfirming their earnings per share estimates.
See our latest analysis for Golar LNG
The consensus price target rose 11% to US$33.44, with the analysts apparently satisfied with the business performance despite lower revenue forecasts.
These estimates are interesting, but it can be useful to paint some more broad strokes when seeing how forecasts compare, both to the Golar LNG's past performance and to peers in the same industry. One thing that stands out from these estimates is that shrinking revenues are expected to moderate over the period ending 2024 compared to the historical decline of 15% per annum over the past five years. Compare this against analyst estimates for companies in the broader industry, which suggest that revenues (in aggregate) are expected to grow 2.5% annually. So while a broad number of companies are forecast to grow, unfortunately Golar LNG is expected to see its sales affected worse than other companies in the industry.
The Bottom Line
The most important thing to take away is that there's been no major change in sentiment, with analysts reconfirming that earnings per share are expected to continue performing in line with their prior expectations. Unfortunately analysts also downgraded their revenue estimates, and industry data suggests that Golar LNG's revenues are expected to grow slower than the wider market. There was also an increase in the price target, suggesting that there is more optimism baked into the forecasts than there was previously. Overall, given the drastic downgrade to this year's forecasts, we'd be feeling a little more wary of Golar LNG going forwards.
There might be good reason for analyst bearishness towards Golar LNG, like the risk of cutting its dividend. For more information, you can click here to discover this and the 1 other risk we've identified.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
