Venture Global (NYSE:VG) Shares Climb 5.4% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Venture Global shares rose 5.4% to $13.50 in Friday trading, though volume was 91% below the stock’s average session volume.
• Analyst sentiment remains moderately positive: nine analysts rate the stock a Buy and seven rate it a Hold, producing an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a $16.53 price target.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $0.51, slightly above estimates, and increased its quarterly dividend to $0.04 per share, or $0.16 annually.

Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 5.4% during trading on Friday. The company traded as high as $13.28 and last traded at $13.5040. 1,537,952 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 17,809,998 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.81.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VG. Weiss Ratings raised Venture Global from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Zacks Research lowered Venture Global from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Venture Global in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $14.00 price objective on shares of Venture Global in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Venture Global in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $16.53.

Venture Global Trading Up 6.6%

The stock's fifty day moving average price is $13.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.44, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.72 and a beta of 0.35.

Venture Global (NYSE:VG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.01. Venture Global had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 34.08%. The company had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter. Research analysts forecast that Venture Global, Inc. will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Venture Global Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a $0.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from Venture Global's previous quarterly dividend of $0.0180. Venture Global's payout ratio is currently 12.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Venture Global

In other news, COO Brian Cothran sold 152,660 shares of Venture Global 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 available at this link. Also, CFO Jonathan W. Thayer sold 111,111 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.86, for a total value of $1,539,998.46. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,493,553 shares of company stock valued at $35,074,470. 84.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Venture Global

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Venture Global by 20.8% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 146,030 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,846,000 after purchasing an additional 25,180 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Venture Global by 11.3% in the third quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 13,484 shares of the company's stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 1,371 shares during the last quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. purchased a new position in Venture Global in the third quarter worth $28,000. Sowell Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of Venture Global by 59.2% during the third quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 16,014 shares of the company's stock worth $202,000 after purchasing an additional 5,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its position in shares of Venture Global by 1.8% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 355,649 shares of the company's stock worth $4,495,000 after purchasing an additional 6,316 shares in the last quarter.

About Venture Global

Venture Global, Inc NYSE: VG is a U.S.-based liquefied natural gas (LNG) company that develops, constructs, owns and operates LNG export facilities. The company sources natural gas, processes it into LNG and exports the product to customers in international energy markets.

Venture Global's operating and development portfolio is concentrated along the U.S. Gulf Coast, particularly in Louisiana. Its projects include the Calcasieu Pass LNG facility, the Plaquemines LNG facility and additional proposed developments such as CP2 LNG and Delta LNG.

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