Principal Financial Group Inc. Makes New Investment in Venture Global, Inc. $VG

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group initiated a Venture Global position worth approximately $2.03 million, purchasing 128,724 shares in the first quarter. Several other institutional investors also significantly increased their holdings.
• Venture Global reported quarterly EPS of $0.19, exceeding the $0.12 analyst consensus, while revenue rose 58.9% year over year to $4.60 billion. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.018 per share.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $16.06, versus a recent share price of $13.19. However, insiders sold 4.46 million shares worth roughly $58.7 million over the past three months.

Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 128,724 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,029,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of VG. UBS Group AG raised its position 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 buying an additional 5,268,053 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 109,594 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its holdings in Venture Global by 304.4% in the 1st quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 149,214 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,352,000 after acquiring an additional 112,318 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Venture Global by 53.1% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,871,398 shares of the company's stock worth $19,583,000 after purchasing an additional 995,725 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Venture Global by 53.1% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 263,799 shares of the company's stock worth $1,799,000 after acquiring an additional 91,524 shares during the period.

Venture Global Price Performance

NYSE VG opened at $13.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.40, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.78 billion, a PE ratio of 14.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.33. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $12.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.04. Venture Global, Inc. has a 12 month low of $5.72 and a 12 month high of $17.62.

Venture Global (NYSE:VG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) 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. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 58.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Venture Global, Inc. will post 1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Venture Global Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a $0.018 dividend. This represents a $0.07 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Venture Global's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on VG. Zacks Research upgraded Venture Global from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of Venture Global in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Scotiabank boosted their price target 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. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Venture Global from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Venture Global in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $14.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $16.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Thomas Earl sold 1,000,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.44, for a total transaction of $12,440,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Fory Musser sold 2,000,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.09, for a total value of $26,180,000.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,459,399 shares of company stock worth $58,670,384. 84.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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