Venture Global (NYSE:VG) Trading Up 12.4% – Still a Buy?

Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG) rose 12.4% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $12.85 and last traded at $12.80. Approximately 3,340,705 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 56% from the average daily volume of 7,627,440 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.39.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Venture Global from $18.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Venture Global in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $19.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Venture Global from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Venture Global from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Venture Global from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.63.

Venture Global Trading Up 9.1%

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $9.41.

Venture Global (NYSE:VG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 13th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.83 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Venture Global, Inc. will post 0.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Venture Global Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.0165 per share. This represents a $0.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Robert B. Pender purchased 269,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $10.39 per share, with a total value of $2,800,105.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 719,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,479,605.15. This represents a 59.84% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael Sabel acquired 234,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $10.53 per share, for a total transaction of $2,469,285.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 1,185,885 shares in the company, valued at $12,487,369.05. This trade represents a 24.65% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 803,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,108,260 in the last three months. 86.73% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Venture Global

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Adalta Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Venture Global during the first quarter valued at about $103,000. Scientech Research LLC bought a new position in shares of Venture Global in the first quarter worth approximately $721,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Venture Global in the first quarter worth approximately $460,000. Millennium Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Venture Global in the first quarter worth approximately $32,099,000. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Venture Global in the first quarter worth approximately $152,000.

Venture Global Company Profile

Venture Global has fundamentally reshaped the development and construction of liquefied natural gas production, establishing us as a rapidly growing company delivering critical LNG to the world. Our innovative and disruptive approach, which is both scalable and repeatable, allows us to bring LNG to a global market years faster and at a lower cost.