Venture Global (NYSE:VG) Shares Up 5.9% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Venture Global shares rose 5.9% on Wednesday, trading as high as $14.95 after closing at $14.06 the prior day, on volume slightly below its average.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive: the stock carries a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, with an average target price of $16.06 after several firms recently raised or reaffirmed targets.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $0.19 beating estimates and revenue up 58.9% year over year to $4.60 billion, while also declaring a small quarterly dividend.

Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG - Get Free Report) shares shot up 5.9% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $14.95 and last traded at $14.8960. 17,029,089 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 13% from the average daily volume of 19,566,459 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.06.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VG. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of Venture Global in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. 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. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Venture Global from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Monday. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Venture Global from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Venture Global from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $16.06.

Venture Global Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $12.45 and a 200-day moving average of $11.72. The firm has a market cap of $36.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.54, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.40.

Venture Global (NYSE:VG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.07. Venture Global had a return on equity of 26.90% and a net margin of 16.94%.The firm had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 58.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Venture Global, Inc. will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Venture Global Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Venture Global

In other Venture Global news, CFO Jonathan W. Thayer sold 111,111 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brian Cothran sold 473,533 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.81, for a total value of $7,013,023.73. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,348,288 shares of company stock valued at $57,091,496. 84.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Venture Global

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Venture Global by 82.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,812,233 shares of the company's stock worth $73,739,000 after buying an additional 4,893,707 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its position in shares of Venture Global by 520.8% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 6,279,598 shares of the company's stock worth $42,827,000 after buying an additional 5,268,053 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Venture Global by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,101,668 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,811,000 after acquiring an additional 273,331 shares during the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Venture Global by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 4,963,166 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,849,000 after acquiring an additional 219,505 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Venture Global in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $76,489,000.

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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