Venture Global (NYSE:VG) Trading 6.4% Higher – What’s Next?

Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG)’s stock price traded up 6.4% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $13.11 and last traded at $12.9460. Approximately 3,997,093 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 19,493,896 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.17.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on VG. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Venture Global in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $14.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Venture Global from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of Venture Global in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Venture Global from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Venture Global from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $12.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Venture Global currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.06.

Venture Global Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $12.45 and a 200-day moving average of $11.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.33.

Venture Global (NYSE:VG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter. Venture Global had a net margin of 16.94% and a return on equity of 26.90%. Venture Global’s revenue was up 58.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Venture Global, Inc. will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Venture Global Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.018 per share. This represents a $0.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Venture Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Jonathan W. Thayer sold 111,111 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.21, for a total transaction of $1,578,887.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Fory Musser sold 2,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.09, for a total value of $26,180,000.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 4,459,399 shares of company stock worth $58,670,384 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 84.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Venture Global

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Venture Global by 1,750.0% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Venture Global in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Venture Global in the second quarter worth $28,000. Harbour Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in Venture Global during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Venture Global by 218.1% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 4,421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 3,031 shares during the period.

Venture Global Company Profile

Venture Global (NYSE: VG) is a Houston-based energy company that develops, constructs and operates large-scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facilities in the United States. The company focuses on converting domestically produced natural gas into LNG for shipment to international markets, positioning itself as a supplier of pipeline-quality gas in vessel-ready form for global customers.

Venture Global’s core activities include site development, engineering and construction of liquefaction and export terminals, commissioning and ongoing operations of those facilities, and commercial marketing of LNG under both long-term and short-term contracts.