Venture Global (NYSE:VG) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Venture Global (NYSE:VG) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Thursday morning,Zacks reports.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on VG. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $14.00 price target on shares of Venture Global in a research report on Tuesday, November 10th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Venture Global from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Venture Global from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Venture Global in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Venture Global from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.87.

Venture Global Price Performance

Shares of Venture Global stock traded down $0.09 during trading on Thursday, hitting $13.17. 7,851,700 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,315,318. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. Venture Global has a fifty-two week low of $5.72 and a fifty-two week high of $17.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.36 and a beta of 0.22. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $13.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.83.

Venture Global (NYSE:VG) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 9th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter. Venture Global had a return on equity of 39.19% and a net margin of 31.11%. Venture Global’s quarterly revenue was up 42.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.16 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Venture Global will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Venture Global Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 15th. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Venture Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Venture Global news, CFO Jonathan Thayer sold 111,111 shares of Venture Global stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.70, for a total value of $1,411,109.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Fory Musser sold 500,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.16, for a total value of $6,580,000.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,280,019 shares of company stock valued at $17,780,943. Company insiders own 84.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Venture Global

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in Venture Global during the third quarter worth about $409,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in Venture Global by 50.7% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,382,802 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,479,000 after buying an additional 464,994 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Venture Global by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 186,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,360,000 after buying an additional 6,708 shares during the period. Plustick Management LLC grew its holdings in Venture Global by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Plustick Management LLC now owns 1,260,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,926,000 after buying an additional 110,000 shares during the period. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Venture Global by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 50,742 shares of the company’s stock valued at $641,000 after buying an additional 4,388 shares during the period.

Key Venture Global News

Investors following VG have been watching these news items:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks says rising earnings estimates point to potential near-term upside for VG, and the stock was added to its Rank #1 (Strong Buy) lists, including its income-stock list. Surging Earnings Estimates Signal Upside for Venture Global (VG) Stock New Strong Buy Stocks for November 13th Best Income Stocks to Buy for November 13th
• Positive Sentiment: RBC Capital and Morgan Stanley each assigned Venture Global a Buy rating. Separately, the average analyst price target implies about 32% upside, although price targets are not reliable predictors on their own; Zacks points to earnings-estimate revisions as a more supportive signal. RBC Capital Buy rating Morgan Stanley Buy rating Analyst price target and upside discussion
• Neutral Sentiment: Plans involving Plaquemines LNG and AI data-center power could broaden long-term growth prospects, but coverage also flags that the data-center strategy may delay free-cash-flow generation. What Is Venture Global Signaling With Plaquemines LNG And AI Power Plans? Venture Global Data Center Play Adds Long-Term Growth But Delays FCF

Venture Global Company Profile

Venture Global, Inc. is a U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) company that develops, constructs and operates facilities to produce and export LNG. Its activities include sourcing natural gas, processing it into LNG and delivering the fuel to customers in international markets, often through long-term supply agreements. Founded in 2013, the company is based in Arlington, Virginia, and focuses its LNG projects on Louisiana’s Gulf Coast. Its facilities include Calcasieu Pass and Plaquemines LNG, while it is also developing additional export capacity, including the proposed CP2 project.