Venture Global (NYSE:VG) Shares Up 6.7% – Should You Buy?

Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG) rose 6.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $13.42 and last traded at $13.3050. Approximately 5,007,914 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 20,670,004 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.47.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on VG shares. Citigroup upgraded shares of Venture Global from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $12.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of Venture Global in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Venture Global from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $16.00 to $17.00 in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Venture Global from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Venture Global from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Venture Global currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.31.

Venture Global Trading Up 6.5%

The firm has a market cap of $32.98 billion, a PE ratio of 14.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.27. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $13.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.61. 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) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 16.94% and a return on equity of 26.90%. The company had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter. The company’s revenue was up 58.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Venture Global, Inc. will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Venture Global Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.018 per share. This represents a $0.07 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Venture Global’s dividend payout ratio is 7.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Venture Global news, COO Brian Cothran sold 473,533 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.81, for a total value of $7,013,023.73. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sarah Blake sold 200,000 shares of Venture Global stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,000,923 shares of company stock valued at $113,781,388. Company insiders own 84.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new position in Venture Global in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. MAI Capital Management bought a new stake in Venture Global during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Venture Global by 1,750.0% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. bought a new stake in Venture Global during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings 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 valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 3,031 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.