Venture Global (NYSE:VG) Stock Price Down 4.2% on Insider Selling

Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG)’s stock price dropped 4.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $14.06 and last traded at $14.1540. Approximately 4,150,425 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 21,763,352 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.78.

Specifically, CFO Jonathan W. Thayer sold 111,111 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.27, for a total value of $1,585,553.97. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Fory Musser sold 2,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.09, for a total transaction of $26,180,000.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Venture Global from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Venture Global from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. New Street Research set a $15.00 price target on Venture Global in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $18.00 price objective on Venture Global in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Venture Global in a research report on Wednesday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.27.

Venture Global Stock Down 4.1%

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.40, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Venture Global (NYSE:VG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.07. The company 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 quarterly revenue was up 58.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Venture Global, Inc. will post 1.38 EPS for the current year.

Venture Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th 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%. This is a boost from Venture Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. Venture Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.78%.

Institutional Trading of Venture Global

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VG. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Venture Global in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. MAI Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Venture Global in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Harbour Investments Inc. bought a new position in shares of Venture Global during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Venture Global by 218.1% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 4,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring 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.