Venture Global (NYSE:VG) Shares Break Above 50-Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG)’s stock price passed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $13.81 and traded as high as $14.00. Venture Global shares last traded at $13.8150, with a volume of 8,584,736 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VG. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Venture Global from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Venture Global from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $15.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $14.00 price objective on shares of Venture Global in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Venture Global in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.50.

Venture Global Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $13.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.54.

Venture Global (NYSE:VG) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter. On average, equities research analysts expect that Venture Global, Inc. will post 1.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Venture Global Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a $0.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. This is an increase from Venture Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.0180. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Venture Global

In other news, CAO Sarah Blake sold 1,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.02, for a total transaction of $14,020,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sari Granat sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.49, for a total transaction of $2,698,000.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,493,553 shares of company stock valued at $35,074,470. 84.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Venture Global

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT increased its holdings in Venture Global by 34.6% during the 3rd quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT now owns 1,870,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,637,000 after purchasing an additional 481,000 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in Venture Global by 59.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 16,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $202,000 after acquiring an additional 5,953 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in Venture Global by 20.8% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 146,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,846,000 after acquiring an additional 25,180 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its position in Venture Global by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 13,484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $170,000 after purchasing an additional 1,371 shares during the period. Finally, Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. purchased a new position in Venture Global during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000.

About Venture Global

Venture Global, Inc (NYSE:VG) is a U.S.-based liquefied natural gas (LNG) company that develops, constructs, owns and operates LNG export facilities. The company sources natural gas, processes it into LNG and exports the product to customers in international energy markets.

Venture Global’s operating and development portfolio is concentrated along the U.S. Gulf Coast, particularly in Louisiana. Its projects include the Calcasieu Pass LNG facility, the Plaquemines LNG facility and additional proposed developments such as CP2 LNG and Delta LNG.