Bleakley Financial Group LLC Invests $2.23 Million in Venture Global, Inc. $VG

Key Points

• Bleakley Financial Group opened a new position in Venture Global, buying 141,802 shares worth about $2.23 million in the first quarter.
• Several other hedge funds also boosted their stakes in the LNG exporter, while insiders were active sellers: Thomas Earl sold 1 million shares and CFO Jonathan W. Thayer sold 111,111 shares, with insiders selling 4.57 million shares last quarter overall.
• Venture Global reported better-than-expected earnings of $0.19 per share on $4.60 billion in revenue, and analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average target price of about $15.94.

Bleakley Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 141,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,235,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. UBS Group AG increased its stake in shares of Venture Global by 520.8% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 6,279,598 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,827,000 after purchasing an additional 5,268,053 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Venture Global by 828.3% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 122,825 shares of the company's stock worth $838,000 after purchasing an additional 109,594 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its stake in shares of Venture Global by 304.4% in the 1st quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 149,214 shares of the company's stock worth $2,352,000 after buying an additional 112,318 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Venture Global by 53.1% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,871,398 shares of the company's stock worth $19,583,000 after buying an additional 995,725 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Venture Global by 53.1% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 263,799 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,799,000 after buying an additional 91,524 shares in the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Thomas Earl sold 1,000,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.44, for a total transaction of $12,440,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jonathan W. Thayer sold 111,111 shares of Venture Global stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.05, for a total transaction of $1,227,776.55. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 4,570,511 shares of company stock valued at $59,690,394 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 84.24% of the company's stock.

Venture Global Price Performance

Shares of VG opened at $12.69 on Friday. Venture Global, Inc. has a twelve month low of $5.72 and a twelve month high of $17.62. The company has a market capitalization of $31.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $12.33 and a 200 day moving average of $11.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.40.

Venture Global (NYSE:VG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter. Venture Global had a return on equity of 26.90% and a net margin of 16.94%.The firm's revenue was up 58.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Venture Global, Inc. will post 1.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Venture Global Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.018 dividend. This represents a $0.07 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Venture Global's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Venture Global from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 22nd. Scotiabank increased their target price on Venture Global from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. US Capital Advisors set a $13.00 price target on Venture Global in a report on Friday, May 29th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Venture Global from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of Venture Global in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $15.94.

Venture Global 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.