Zacks Research Upgrades Venture Global (NYSE:VG) to Strong-Buy

Venture Global (NYSE:VG) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Thursday, Zacks reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of Venture Global in a research note on Tuesday, November 10th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Venture Global from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Venture Global in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Venture Global from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $15.00 to $21.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Venture Global in a report on Friday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.87.

Venture Global Price Performance

Shares of VG traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $13.17. The company had a trading volume of 7,851,700 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,315,318. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.83. Venture Global has a 1-year low of $5.72 and a 1-year high of $17.62. 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 company has a market capitalization of $32.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.36 and a beta of 0.22.

Venture Global (NYSE:VG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 9th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter. Venture Global had a net margin of 31.11% and a return on equity of 39.19%. Venture Global’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.16 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Venture Global will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Venture Global

In other Venture Global news, COO Brian Cothran sold 152,660 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.15, for a total transaction of $2,465,459.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Fory Musser sold 500,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.16, for a total transaction of $6,580,000.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 1,280,019 shares of company stock worth $17,780,943 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 84.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Venture Global

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Venture Global by 50.7% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,382,802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,479,000 after buying an additional 464,994 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Venture Global by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 186,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,360,000 after buying an additional 6,708 shares in the last quarter. Plustick Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Venture Global by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Plustick Management LLC now owns 1,260,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,926,000 after buying an additional 110,000 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Venture Global by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 50,742 shares of the company’s stock worth $641,000 after buying an additional 4,388 shares during the period. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Venture Global during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,275,000.

Key Headlines Impacting Venture Global

Here are a few of the latest headlines about VG:

• Positive Sentiment: RBC Capital and Morgan Stanley each assigned Venture Global a Buy rating. Separately, the average analyst price target implies about 32% upside, although price targets are not reliable predictors on their own; Zacks points to earnings-estimate revisions as a more supportive signal. RBC Capital Buy rating Morgan Stanley Buy rating Analyst price target and upside discussion
• Neutral Sentiment: Venture Global has asked the U.S. Department of Energy for permission to re-export LNG from its CP2 project. Approval could add commercial flexibility, but the request remains subject to a regulatory decision. Venture Global asks DOE for approval to re-export LNG from CP2 project
• Neutral Sentiment: Plans involving Plaquemines LNG and AI data-center power could broaden long-term growth prospects, but coverage also flags that the data-center strategy may delay free-cash-flow generation. What Is Venture Global Signaling With Plaquemines LNG And AI Power Plans? Venture Global Data Center Play Adds Long-Term Growth But Delays FCF

Venture Global Company Profile

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.