Venture Global Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:VG)

Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 22,044 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 57% compared to the average daily volume of 14,020 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $12.00 price target (down previously from $17.00) on shares of Venture Global in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Venture Global from $16.00 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 24th. US Capital Advisors raised shares of Venture Global to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Venture Global from $16.00 to $10.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Venture Global from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.25.

Venture Global Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE:VG traded up $0.03 on Wednesday, hitting $7.91. The stock had a trading volume of 13,186,421 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,181,305. Venture Global has a 52 week low of $5.72 and a 52 week high of $25.50. The business’s fifty day moving average is $7.08 and its 200 day moving average is $11.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.46. The company has a market cap of $19.36 billion and a PE ratio of 10.14.

Venture Global (NYSE:VG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. Venture Global had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 29.55%. The business’s revenue was up 259.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Venture Global will post 0.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Venture Global Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a dividend of $0.017 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Venture Global’s payout ratio is 8.97%.

Insider Transactions at Venture Global

In other news, insider Thomas Earl sold 1,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.89, for a total transaction of $6,890,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Fory Musser sold 42,901 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.80, for a total value of $334,627.80. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 3,000,000 shares of company stock worth $22,904,729 over the last three months. Insiders own 86.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Venture Global

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Venture Global during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc purchased a new position in Venture Global during the second quarter worth about $28,000. MAI Capital Management bought a new stake in Venture Global in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Venture Global in the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Venture Global by 161.2% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 1,820 shares during 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.