Venture Global (NYSE:VG) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Venture Global from “hold” to “strong-buy,” adding to a generally positive analyst backdrop for the LNG company. MarketBeat data shows the stock now carries an average rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $15.94.
• Venture Global beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.19 EPS versus the $0.12 consensus and posting $4.60 billion in revenue, up 58.9% year over year. The company also reported strong profitability metrics, including a 26.90% return on equity.
• Insider selling has been notable, including recent sales by the COO and CFO, with insiders selling 4.57 million shares worth about $59.7 million over the last three months. Despite that, institutional investors such as UBS Group and State Street have significantly increased their stakes.

Venture Global (NYSE:VG - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on VG. Wall Street Zen upgraded Venture Global from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, March 22nd. US Capital Advisors set a $13.00 target price on Venture Global in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Venture Global in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $14.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho increased their price target on Venture Global from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of Venture Global in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. One equities research 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $15.94.

Venture Global Stock Performance

NYSE VG opened at $12.97 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.40, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.87. Venture Global has a fifty-two week low of $5.72 and a fifty-two week high of $17.62. The stock has a market cap of $32.21 billion, a PE ratio of 14.41, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.33. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $12.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.53.

Venture Global (NYSE:VG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter. Venture Global's revenue for the quarter was up 58.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Venture Global will post 1.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Brian Cothran sold 31,910 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.33, for a total transaction of $457,270.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jonathan W. Thayer sold 111,111 shares of Venture Global stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.05, for a total value of $1,227,776.55. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 4,570,511 shares of company stock worth $59,690,394 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 84.24% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Venture Global

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. UBS Group AG grew its stake in shares of Venture Global by 520.8% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 6,279,598 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,827,000 after buying an additional 5,268,053 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. purchased a new position in Venture Global during the 2nd quarter valued at $76,489,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Venture Global by 82.7% in 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 period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Venture Global by 135.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,174,444 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,789,000 after purchasing an additional 2,402,771 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $22,155,000 after buying an additional 2,341,253 shares in the last quarter.

About Venture Global

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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