Venture Global (NYSE:VG) Shares Up 5.4% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Venture Global shares rose 5.4% on the day, trading as high as $12.93 before closing near $12.91, though volume was far below its average session pace.
• Analysts remain mixed but generally constructive: the stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with a consensus price target of $15.94, and several firms recently raised targets.
• The company’s recent fundamentals were solid, with Q1 EPS of $0.19 topping estimates and revenue jumping 58.9% year over year; however, insiders have also been active sellers in recent months.

Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG - Get Free Report) shares were up 5.4% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $12.93 and last traded at $12.9050. 2,777,582 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 19,577,414 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.24.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VG. Bank of America raised their price objective on Venture Global from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Venture Global from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Venture Global from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Venture Global from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Venture Global in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $14.00 price target on the stock. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Venture Global currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $15.94.

Venture Global Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.40. The company has a market cap of $32.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.40, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Venture Global (NYSE:VG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.07. Venture Global had a return on equity of 26.90% and a net margin of 16.94%.The company had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter. The business's quarterly revenue was up 58.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Venture Global, Inc. will post 1.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Venture Global Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.018 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Venture Global's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.78%.

Insider Activity

In other Venture Global news, insider Thomas Earl sold 1,000,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.44, for a total value of $12,440,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jonathan W. Thayer sold 111,111 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.05, for a total transaction of $1,227,776.55. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 4,570,511 shares of company stock valued at $59,690,394 in the last ninety days. 84.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UBS Group AG increased its stake in Venture Global by 520.8% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 6,279,598 shares of the company's stock worth $42,827,000 after acquiring an additional 5,268,053 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Venture Global in the 2nd quarter valued at $76,489,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Venture Global by 82.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,812,233 shares of the company's stock worth $73,739,000 after purchasing an additional 4,893,707 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Venture Global by 135.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,174,444 shares of the company's stock worth $65,789,000 after purchasing an additional 2,402,771 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Venture Global by 258.1% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,248,477 shares of the company's stock worth $22,155,000 after purchasing an additional 2,341,253 shares during the last quarter.

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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