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

Shares of Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $13.83, but opened at $13.30. Venture Global shares last traded at $13.38, with a volume of 1,762,942 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on VG shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Venture Global from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Venture Global from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Venture Global from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Venture Global from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $18.00 price target on shares of Venture Global in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.47.

Venture Global Trading Up 1.6%

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $13.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.40. The company has a market cap of $31.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.44.

Venture Global (NYSE:VG) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter. Venture Global had a net margin of 16.94% and a return on equity of 26.90%. Venture Global’s quarterly revenue was up 58.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Venture Global, Inc. will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Venture Global Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 an increase from Venture Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. This represents a $0.07 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. Venture Global’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.78%.

Insider Activity at Venture Global

In related news, insider Thomas Earl sold 1,000,000 shares of the business’s 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. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Brian Cothran sold 473,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.81, for a total transaction of $7,013,023.73. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 8,831,623 shares of company stock valued at $121,592,681 in the last quarter. 84.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Venture Global

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new position in Venture Global in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. MAI Capital Management purchased a new position in Venture Global in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Venture Global by 161.2% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,949 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 1,820 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Venture Global by 1,750.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. purchased a new position in Venture Global in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000.

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.