Venture Global (NYSE:VG) Stock Price Up 4.9% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG) rose 4.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $13.15 and last traded at $13.2750. 1,654,873 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 17,790,221 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.66.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on VG shares. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Venture Global from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Zacks Research downgraded Venture Global from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $14.00 target price on shares of Venture Global in a research note on Tuesday. Mizuho upped their price target on Venture Global from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Venture Global from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.87.

Venture Global Trading Up 4.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market cap of $33.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.42 and a beta of 0.22. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $13.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.79.

Venture Global (NYSE:VG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 9th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.46. Venture Global had a net margin of 31.11% and a return on equity of 39.19%. The company had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.16 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 42.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Venture Global, Inc. will post 1.79 EPS for the current year.

Venture Global Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 15th. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Venture Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Venture Global

In other Venture Global news, COO Brian Cothran sold 152,660 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.15, for a total value of $2,465,459.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Sarah Blake sold 1,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.02, for a total value of $14,020,000.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 2,227,553 shares of company stock worth $31,495,370 in the last 90 days. 84.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Venture Global

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. bought a new position in Venture Global in the third quarter worth about $28,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Venture Global during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. IFP Advisors Inc bought a new position in shares of Venture Global during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Venture Global by 17,041.2% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,828 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 5,794 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Morris Harris LLC purchased a new position in shares of Venture Global during the third quarter valued at approximately $127,000.

About Venture Global

Venture Global, Inc. is a U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) company that develops, constructs and operates facilities to produce and export LNG. Its activities include sourcing natural gas, processing it into LNG and delivering the fuel to customers in international markets, often through long-term supply agreements. Founded in 2013, the company is based in Arlington, Virginia, and focuses its LNG projects on Louisiana’s Gulf Coast. Its facilities include Calcasieu Pass and Plaquemines LNG, while it is also developing additional export capacity, including the proposed CP2 project.