Venture Global (NYSE:VG) Shares Up 4.2% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Venture Global shares rose 4.2% to about $13.68, while trading volume was 88% below the average session volume.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive: the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and a consensus price target of $16.13, implying potential upside.
• The company beat quarterly earnings estimates with $0.51 in EPS on $4.58 billion in revenue and increased its quarterly dividend to $0.04 per share, though insiders have recently sold significant amounts of stock.

Shares of Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG - Get Free Report) were up 4.2% during trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as high as $13.65 and last traded at $13.6780. Approximately 2,153,640 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 17,811,205 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.13.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Venture Global from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Venture Global from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Venture Global in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Venture Global in a research note on Friday. Finally, Zacks Research raised Venture Global from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Venture Global presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $16.13.

Venture Global Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $34.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.83, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.44. The stock's 50-day moving average is $13.89 and its 200-day moving average is $13.28.

Venture Global (NYSE:VG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter. Venture Global had a net margin of 21.24% and a return on equity of 34.08%. On average, analysts predict that Venture Global, Inc. will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Venture Global Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $0.04 per share. This is a positive change from Venture Global's previous quarterly dividend of $0.0180. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Venture Global's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.60%.

Insider Activity at Venture Global

In other Venture Global news, CAO Sarah Blake sold 1,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.02, for a total value of $14,020,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Brian Cothran sold 152,660 shares of Venture Global stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.15, for a total value of $2,465,459.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 2,493,553 shares of company stock worth $35,242,247 over the last 90 days. 84.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VG. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Venture Global by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 128,183 shares of the company's stock worth $1,620,000 after buying an additional 18,699 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP grew its holdings in Venture Global by 754.3% during the 3rd quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 7,143,406 shares of the company's stock worth $90,293,000 after acquiring an additional 6,307,200 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Venture Global by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 43,828 shares of the company's stock valued at $488,000 after acquiring an additional 3,281 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its position in Venture Global by 69.5% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 352,378 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,922,000 after acquiring an additional 144,477 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Venture Global by 14.3% during the second quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 27,650 shares of the company's stock valued at $308,000 after acquiring an additional 3,455 shares during the last quarter.

About Venture Global

Venture Global, Inc NYSE: VG is a U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) company that develops, constructs, owns and operates LNG export facilities. The company's business includes sourcing natural gas, processing and liquefying it, and delivering LNG to customers in international energy markets.

Venture Global's principal operations are located along the U.S. Gulf Coast in Louisiana. Its Calcasieu Pass LNG facility began producing LNG in 2022, and the company is also developing the Plaquemines LNG facility near Port Sulphur, Louisiana.

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