Venture Global (NYSE:VG) Trading Down 5.7% – What’s Next?

Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG)’s share price dropped 5.7% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $14.96 and last traded at $14.8690. Approximately 7,630,234 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 63% from the average daily volume of 20,766,621 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.76.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Venture Global from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Zacks Research upgraded Venture Global from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Venture Global from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Venture Global from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $13.00 price target on shares of Venture Global in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.70.

Venture Global Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $11.67 and a 200 day moving average of $9.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.84.

Venture Global (NYSE:VG) last posted its earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $4.45 billion for the quarter. Venture Global had a return on equity of 27.96% and a net margin of 18.38%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 191.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Venture Global, Inc. will post 0.52 EPS for the current year.

Venture Global Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th were paid a dividend of $0.018 per share. This is a positive change from Venture Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. This represents a $0.07 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. Venture Global’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.14%.

Insider Transactions at Venture Global

In other news, insider Thomas Earl sold 1,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.83, for a total transaction of $11,830,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Fory Musser sold 1,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.90, for a total value of $10,900,000.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 5,872,223 shares of company stock worth $82,002,870. Insiders own 86.73% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Venture Global

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Venture Global by 1,750.0% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 3,500 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Venture Global during the second quarter worth $26,000. MAI Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Venture Global during the third quarter worth $29,000. Harbour Investments Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Venture Global in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in Venture Global by 218.1% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 4,421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 3,031 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.