Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest fell 17.7% in March to 38,345,982 shares (about 11.8% of the float) with a days-to-cover ratio of 0.9, signaling reduced short exposure.
• Analysts are mixed: the consensus rating is "Hold" with an average price target of $15.63, while firms range from UBS's $21 "Buy" to JPMorgan trimming its target to $16.
• Company performance and insider activity: Venture Global beat quarterly EPS estimates and reported revenue up 191.7% year-over-year, while insiders sold roughly 5.87 million shares (~$82 million) in the past 90 days, including the CFO's 2.61 million-share sale.

Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG - Get Free Report) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 38,345,982 shares, a decline of 17.7% from the March 15th total of 46,565,004 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 42,477,619 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.9 days. Approximately 11.8% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on VG shares. New Street Research set a $15.00 price target on shares of Venture Global in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Venture Global from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Venture Global from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Venture Global from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Venture Global from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $15.63.

Venture Global Trading Up 4.0%

Shares of VG stock traded up $0.49 during trading on Thursday, hitting $12.67. 18,705,417 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 35,083,256. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $12.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.87. Venture Global has a 52-week low of $5.72 and a 52-week high of $19.50.

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

Venture Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th were given a $0.018 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $0.07 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Venture Global's previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. Venture Global's dividend payout ratio is 8.14%.

Insider Transactions at Venture Global

In other news, CFO Jonathan W. Thayer sold 2,611,111 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.08, for a total value of $41,986,664.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Thomas Earl sold 1,000,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.83, for a total transaction of $11,830,000.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,872,223 shares of company stock valued at $82,002,870. 86.73% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Venture Global

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VG. Royal Bank of Canada acquired a new stake in Venture Global during the 1st quarter worth $2,150,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Venture Global during the 1st quarter worth $152,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Venture Global during the 1st quarter worth $460,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new stake in Venture Global during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Amundi acquired a new stake in Venture Global during the 2nd quarter worth $213,000.

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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