Venture Global (NYSE:VG) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

Shares of Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $11.62, but opened at $12.58. Venture Global shares last traded at $12.7680, with a volume of 6,421,372 shares.

The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter. Venture Global had a return on equity of 27.96% and a net margin of 18.38%.Venture Global’s quarterly revenue was up 58.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Venture Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th were given a $0.018 dividend. This represents a $0.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from Venture Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. Venture Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Venture Global from $15.00 to $18.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Venture Global from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Venture Global from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Venture Global from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $8.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Venture Global from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.83.

Insider Transactions at Venture Global

In other Venture Global news, VP Fory Musser sold 1,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.90, for a total transaction of $10,900,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Sarah Blake sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.00, for a total value of $3,200,000.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 6,094,446 shares of company stock worth $84,601,768 in the last ninety days. 84.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Venture Global

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VG. Royal Bank of Canada acquired a new position in shares of Venture Global in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,150,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Venture Global in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $152,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Venture Global in the first quarter worth $460,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Venture Global during the second quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Amundi acquired a new stake in shares of Venture Global in the second quarter valued at $213,000.

Venture Global Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $31.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.89, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $13.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

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.