Venture Global (NYSE:VG) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday. The stock had previously closed at $12.81, but opened at $13.31. Venture Global shares last traded at $12.9250, with a volume of 1,598,358 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on VG shares. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Venture Global from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Zacks Research cut shares of Venture Global from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Venture Global in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Venture Global from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $15.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of Venture Global in a research note on Friday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Venture Global currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.53.

Venture Global Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $31.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.03 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.44. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $13.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.15.

Venture Global (NYSE:VG) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter. Venture Global had a return on equity of 34.08% and a net margin of 21.24%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Venture Global, Inc. will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Venture Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a $0.04 dividend. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. This is a positive change from Venture Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.0180. Venture Global’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Venture Global news, CFO Jonathan Thayer sold 111,111 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.86, for a total transaction of $1,539,998.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sarah Blake sold 1,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.02, for a total transaction of $14,020,000.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 2,382,442 shares of company stock worth $33,663,360 over the last ninety days. 84.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Venture Global

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in Venture Global in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. IFP Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in Venture Global in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in Venture Global by 218.1% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 4,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 3,031 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Venture Global by 67.5% during the 1st quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 4,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 1,805 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of Venture Global by 17,041.2% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,828 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 5,794 shares during the last quarter.

Venture Global Company Profile

Venture Global, Inc (NYSE:VG) is a U.S.-based liquefied natural gas (LNG) company that develops, constructs, owns and operates LNG export facilities. The company sources natural gas, processes it into LNG and exports the product to customers in international energy markets.

Venture Global’s operating and development portfolio is concentrated along the U.S. Gulf Coast, particularly in Louisiana. Its projects include the Calcasieu Pass LNG facility, the Plaquemines LNG facility and additional proposed developments such as CP2 LNG and Delta LNG.