Venture Global (NYSE:VG) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $16.89, but opened at $16.02. Venture Global shares last traded at $16.0020, with a volume of 7,849,538 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Venture Global from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Venture Global from $11.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research raised Venture Global from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. US Capital Advisors upgraded shares of Venture Global to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Venture Global in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.70.

Venture Global Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $11.57 and a 200-day moving average of $9.87. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $36.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.05, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 5.70.

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

Venture Global Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Venture Global

In other news, CAO Sarah Blake sold 300,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.85, for a total transaction of $3,555,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Thomas Earl sold 1,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.83, for a total transaction of $11,830,000.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 5,872,223 shares of company stock worth $82,002,870 over the last quarter. 86.73% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Venture Global

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in Venture Global during the 4th quarter valued at $90,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Venture Global by 218.1% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 4,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 3,031 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Venture Global in the 4th quarter worth $104,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Venture Global by 1,614.1% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 33,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $229,000 after acquiring an additional 31,669 shares during the period. Finally, Alpine Global Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Venture Global in the fourth quarter worth $531,000.

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.