Venture Global (NYSE:VG) Shares Up 8.4% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Venture Global's stock experienced an 8.4% increase during trading, reaching a high of $13.99, although it closed at $13.20 with lower trading volume.
• Analysts are mixed on the company's outlook, with one "sell" rating, six "hold" ratings, and seven "buy" ratings, while the average price target for the stock is $16.85.
• The company reported earnings per share of $0.16 for the last quarter, missing estimates, but had a revenue of $2.89 billion that surpassed expectations.

Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG - Get Free Report) traded up 8.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $13.99 and last traded at $13.20. 3,783,001 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 47% from the average session volume of 7,141,086 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.18.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on VG shares. UBS Group cut shares of Venture Global from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $14.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Venture Global from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $17.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Johnson Rice started coverage on shares of Venture Global in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Venture Global from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Venture Global from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 28th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $17.00.

Venture Global Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.38, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 1.39. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $15.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.99.

Venture Global (NYSE:VG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 13th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($0.08). Venture Global had a return on equity of 22.45% and a net margin of 18.89%. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Venture Global, Inc. will post 0.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Venture Global Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th were given a $0.0165 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $0.07 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Venture Global

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rafferty Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Venture Global in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,096,000. HRT Financial LP purchased a new position in Venture Global in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,588,000. IHT Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Venture Global in the 2nd quarter valued at about $349,000. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC purchased a new position in Venture Global in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,845,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in Venture Global by 32.5% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 26,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $413,000 after purchasing an additional 6,500 shares in the last quarter.

About Venture Global

Venture Global has fundamentally reshaped the development and construction of liquefied natural gas production, establishing us as a rapidly growing company delivering critical LNG to the world. Our innovative and disruptive approach, which is both scalable and repeatable, allows us to bring LNG to a global market years faster and at a lower cost.