Venture Global (NYSE:VG) Shares Down 5.2% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG) dropped 5.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $14.35 and last traded at $14.3180. Approximately 1,973,778 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 18,542,645 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.11.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $18.00 target price on shares of Venture Global in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Venture Global from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Venture Global from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Venture Global from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $16.00 to $17.00 in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Venture Global from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Venture Global currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.07.

Venture Global Trading Down 1.2%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $13.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.44, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.34 billion, a PE ratio of 11.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.26.

Venture Global (NYSE:VG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter. Venture Global had a return on equity of 34.08% and a net margin of 21.24%. Sell-side analysts predict that Venture Global, Inc. will post 1.63 EPS for the current year.

Venture Global Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.04 per share. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. This is an increase from Venture Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Venture Global’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.60%.

Insider Transactions at Venture Global

In related news, VP Fory Musser sold 447,534 shares of Venture Global stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.02, for a total value of $6,274,426.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jonathan W. Thayer sold 111,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.86, for a total transaction of $1,539,998.46. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 2,340,893 shares of company stock worth $32,404,567 over the last ninety days. 84.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Venture Global

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Corecam AG acquired a new stake in Venture Global during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,401,000. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in shares of Venture Global by 520.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 6,279,598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,827,000 after purchasing an additional 5,268,053 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its stake in shares of Venture Global by 304.4% in the first quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 149,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,352,000 after purchasing an additional 112,318 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Venture Global in the first quarter worth about $2,235,000. Finally, Clough Capital Partners L P purchased a new stake in Venture Global in the first quarter valued at approximately $7,961,000.

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.