Venture Global (NYSE:VG) Shares Up 4.2% – Should You Buy?

Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG) rose 4.2% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $13.52 and last traded at $13.4570. Approximately 2,445,344 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 18,286,629 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.91.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on VG shares. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Venture Global from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Venture Global from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Venture Global from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Venture Global from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Venture Global in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $14.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.13.

Venture Global Stock Up 6.0%

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $14.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.21 billion, a PE ratio of 10.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.44.

Venture Global (NYSE:VG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.01. Venture Global had a return on equity of 34.08% and a net margin of 21.24%.The company had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter. Analysts forecast that Venture Global, Inc. will post 1.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Venture Global Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This is a positive change from Venture Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Venture Global’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Venture Global news, CAO Sarah Blake sold 1,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.02, for a total transaction of $14,020,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Fory Musser sold 447,534 shares of Venture Global stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.02, for a total value of $6,274,426.68. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 2,493,553 shares of company stock worth $35,242,247 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 84.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Venture Global

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cohen & Steers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Venture Global by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 4,963,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,849,000 after acquiring an additional 219,505 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Venture Global by 135.6% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,174,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,789,000 after purchasing an additional 2,402,771 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Venture Global by 1.7% during the first quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,918,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,001,000 after purchasing an additional 47,425 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in Venture Global by 104.6% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,046,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,258,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,300 shares during the period. Finally, Rubric Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Venture Global in the first quarter worth approximately $23,640,000.

Venture Global Company Profile

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.