Venture Global (NYSE:VG) Stock Price Up 7.5% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG) were up 7.5% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $8.54 and last traded at $8.5550. Approximately 8,997,394 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 28% from the average daily volume of 12,450,984 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.96.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $12.00 target price (down previously from $17.00) on shares of Venture Global in a report on Friday, October 10th. US Capital Advisors upgraded shares of Venture Global to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Venture Global from $16.00 to $10.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $8.00 target price on shares of Venture Global in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Venture Global from $15.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.04.

Venture Global Trading Up 10.6%

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $7.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.46. The company has a market capitalization of $21.54 billion and a PE ratio of 11.28.

Venture Global (NYSE:VG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.22 by ($0.06). Venture Global had a return on equity of 29.55% and a net margin of 21.99%.The business had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 259.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Venture Global, Inc. will post 0.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Venture Global Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.017 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Venture Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Venture Global

In related news, VP Fory Musser sold 42,901 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.80, for a total value of $334,627.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Thomas Earl sold 1,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.89, for a total transaction of $6,890,000.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 3,000,000 shares of company stock worth $22,904,729 over the last ninety days. 86.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Venture Global by 147.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,862,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $324,417,000 after acquiring an additional 13,620,863 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Venture Global during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $76,489,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Venture Global by 24.8% in the 2nd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,731,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,973,000 after purchasing an additional 344,390 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its position in Venture Global by 65.2% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 979,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,894,000 after purchasing an additional 386,603 shares during the period. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in Venture Global during the 3rd quarter worth $13,632,000.

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.