Brokerages Set Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG) Target Price at $16.13

Shares of Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $16.1333.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Venture Global from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $16.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Venture Global from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Zacks Research upgraded Venture Global from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. US Capital Advisors set a $13.00 price target on Venture Global in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Venture Global in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $14.00 price target for the company.

Venture Global Trading Down 2.4%

NYSE:VG opened at $14.07 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.08, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.26. Venture Global has a 52 week low of $5.72 and a 52 week high of $17.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.44. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $14.04 and a 200 day moving average of $13.28.

Venture Global (NYSE:VG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter. Venture Global had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 34.08%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Venture Global will post 1.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Venture Global Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a $0.04 dividend. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This is an increase from Venture Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. Venture Global’s payout ratio is 12.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Venture Global news, CAO Sarah Blake sold 1,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.02, for a total transaction of $14,020,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jonathan W. Thayer sold 111,111 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.86, for a total transaction of $1,539,998.46. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 2,382,442 shares of company stock worth $33,642,249 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 84.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Venture Global

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VG. Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its position in shares of Venture Global by 69.5% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 352,378 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,922,000 after acquiring an additional 144,477 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its stake in Venture Global by 14.3% in the 2nd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 27,650 shares of the company’s stock worth $308,000 after acquiring an additional 3,455 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in Venture Global during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Corient Private Wealth LP lifted its position in Venture Global by 37.2% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 14,430 shares of the company’s stock worth $161,000 after acquiring an additional 3,910 shares during the period. Finally, Readystate Asset Management LP grew its stake in Venture Global by 57.2% during the 2nd quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP now owns 651,795 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,254,000 after purchasing an additional 237,245 shares during the last quarter.

About Venture Global

Venture Global, Inc is a liquefied natural gas (LNG) company that develops, constructs and operates LNG export facilities in the United States. The company sources natural gas from domestic markets, liquefies it at its coastal facilities and supplies LNG to customers in international markets.

Venture Global’s operating and development portfolio is concentrated along the U.S. Gulf Coast. Its Calcasieu Pass LNG facility in Louisiana has entered commercial operations, while its Plaquemines LNG project in Louisiana is being developed and brought into service.