Traders Buy Large Volume of Venture Global Call Options (NYSE:VG)

Key Points

• Traders bought an unusually large volume of calls — 54,698 call options on NYSE:VG, an 85% increase versus the average daily call volume, indicating elevated bullish options interest.
• Company insiders executed major sales: CAO Sarah Blake sold 200,000 shares ($3.2M) and CFO Jonathan W. Thayer sold 2,611,111 shares (~$41.99M), with insiders selling ~5.87M shares (~$82M) over the last quarter while still owning 86.73% of the stock.
• Shares tumbled 11.5% to $14.16 on heavy volume, even as Venture Global reported strong results (quarterly revenue of $4.45B, up 191.7%, and EPS $0.41 vs. a $0.35 estimate); analyst sentiment is mixed with a consensus target of $15.70.

Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Traders bought 54,698 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 85% compared to the average daily volume of 29,523 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Sarah Blake sold 200,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.00, for a total value of $3,200,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jonathan W. Thayer sold 2,611,111 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.08, for a total transaction of $41,986,664.88. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,872,223 shares of company stock valued at $82,002,870. Company insiders own 86.73% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Venture Global

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Venture Global by 1,750.0% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,700 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Venture Global in the second quarter worth about $26,000. MAI Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Venture Global during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Harbour Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Venture Global during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Venture Global by 218.1% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 4,421 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 3,031 shares in the last quarter.

Venture Global Trading Down 11.5%

Shares of NYSE:VG traded down $1.83 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $14.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 28,098,796 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,644,666. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24. Venture Global has a 12 month low of $5.72 and a 12 month high of $19.50. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $12.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.79 billion, a PE ratio of 16.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.84.

Venture Global (NYSE:VG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.06. Venture Global had a net margin of 18.38% and a return on equity of 27.96%. The firm had revenue of $4.45 billion during the quarter. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 191.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Venture Global will post 0.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Venture Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th were issued a dividend of $0.018 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. This is a positive change from Venture Global's previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. This represents a $0.07 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Venture Global's dividend payout ratio is 8.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Venture Global from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Venture Global from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Venture Global from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. US Capital Advisors upgraded Venture Global to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Venture Global from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $8.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Venture Global has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $15.70.

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.

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.