Venture Global (NYSE:VG) Trading 17.4% Higher – Still a Buy?

Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG) shares were up 17.4% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $13.93 and last traded at $13.84. Approximately 3,973,948 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 47% from the average daily volume of 7,562,475 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.79.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Venture Global from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Venture Global in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $19.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Venture Global from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Venture Global from $25.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Venture Global from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.63.

Venture Global Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $9.62.

Venture Global (NYSE:VG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 13th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. Analysts expect that Venture Global, Inc. will post 0.52 EPS for the current year.

Venture Global Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a $0.0165 dividend. This represents a $0.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th.

Insider Activity at Venture Global

In other news, Director Jimmy D. Staton bought 49,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $10.13 per share, for a total transaction of $496,370.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 49,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $496,370. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Robert B. Pender bought 269,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $10.39 per share, for a total transaction of $2,800,105.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 719,885 shares in the company, valued at $7,479,605.15. This represents a 59.84% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 803,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,108,260 in the last quarter. Insiders own 86.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Venture Global

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VG. Allianz Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in Venture Global during the 1st quarter worth about $3,547,294,000. Vanguard Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Venture Global in the first quarter worth approximately $125,788,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Venture Global during the first quarter valued at approximately $37,798,000. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Venture Global during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,099,000. Finally, Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Venture Global in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,673,000.

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.