Venture Global Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:VG)

Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Investors purchased 54,147 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 40% compared to the typical volume of 38,544 call options.

Venture Global Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE VG traded down $0.09 during trading on Monday, reaching $13.29. The company had a trading volume of 6,685,737 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,347,107. Venture Global has a 12-month low of $5.72 and a 12-month high of $17.62. The stock has a market cap of $33.03 billion, a PE ratio of 14.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.33. The business’s 50-day moving average is $12.41 and its 200 day moving average is $12.09. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter. Venture Global had a return on equity of 26.90% and a net margin of 16.94%.The firm’s revenue was up 58.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Venture Global will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Venture Global Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $18.00 target price on shares of Venture Global in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Venture Global from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Venture Global from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $16.00 to $17.00 in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Citigroup raised shares of Venture Global from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $12.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Venture Global from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.06.

Insider Transactions at Venture Global

In related news, COO Brian Cothran sold 473,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Thomas Earl sold 1,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.44, for a total value of $12,440,000.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,459,399 shares of company stock worth $58,670,384. 84.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Venture Global

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its position in Venture Global by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 12,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,000 after buying an additional 1,004 shares during the last quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Venture Global by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 14,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,000 after acquiring an additional 1,161 shares during the last quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec boosted its holdings in shares of Venture Global by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 12,254 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 1,215 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Venture Global by 24.1% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,363 shares during the period. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake in shares of Venture Global by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 93,615 shares of the company’s stock worth $638,000 after acquiring an additional 1,407 shares during the period.

Venture Global Company Profile

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.