Cohen & Steers Inc. Purchases 219,505 Shares of Venture Global, Inc. $VG

Key Points

• Cohen & Steers Inc. increased its Venture Global stake by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, buying 219,505 more shares and bringing its total holdings to 4,963,166 shares worth about $33.8 million.
• Several other institutions also boosted positions in Venture Global, including Vanguard and UBS, while analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $16.31.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $0.19 beating estimates and revenue rising 58.9% year over year to $4.6 billion, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.018 per share.

Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its position in Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG - Free Report) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,963,166 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 219,505 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. owned approximately 0.20% of Venture Global worth $33,849,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VG. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Venture Global by 147.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,862,372 shares of the company's stock valued at $324,417,000 after purchasing an additional 13,620,863 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of Venture Global by 520.8% in 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. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Venture Global in the second quarter valued at about $76,489,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Venture Global by 53.1% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,871,398 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,583,000 after purchasing an additional 995,725 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in Venture Global in the third quarter valued at $13,632,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Venture Global from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. New Street Research set a $15.00 target price on Venture Global in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Venture Global from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $16.00 to $17.00 in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Zacks Research upgraded Venture Global from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Venture Global from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $12.00 to $17.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Venture Global has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $16.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Thomas Earl sold 1,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was 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 link. Also, CFO Jonathan W. Thayer sold 2,611,111 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.08, for a total value of $41,986,664.88. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 7,881,623 shares of company stock valued at $112,229,295 in the last ninety days. 84.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Venture Global Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VG opened at $13.07 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $13.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.71. The company has a market cap of $32.48 billion, a PE ratio of 14.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.27. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $5.72 and a twelve month high of $19.50.

Venture Global (NYSE:VG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.07. Venture Global had a return on equity of 26.90% and a net margin of 16.94%.The firm had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter. Venture Global's revenue was up 58.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Venture Global, Inc. will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Venture Global Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.018 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.07 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Venture Global's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.78%.

About Venture Global

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.

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