Venture Global (NYSE:VG) Stock Price Down 10.4% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG) were down 10.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $10.95 and last traded at $11.3570. Approximately 7,054,601 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 21,690,992 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.68.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Venture Global from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Venture Global in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Venture Global from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Venture Global from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Venture Global from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.77.

Venture Global Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $28.00 billion, a PE ratio of 13.27, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.87.

Venture Global (NYSE:VG) last released 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 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% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Venture Global, Inc. will post 0.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Venture Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th were paid a $0.018 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. This is a positive change from Venture Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. This represents a $0.07 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Venture Global’s dividend payout ratio is 8.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Venture Global

In related news, insider Thomas Earl sold 1,000,000 shares of the company’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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jonathan W. Thayer sold 2,611,111 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.08, for a total transaction of $41,986,664.88. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,872,223 shares of company stock worth $82,002,870. 86.73% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Venture Global

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VG. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Venture Global in the second quarter worth about $26,000. MAI Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Venture Global in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Harbour Investments Inc. purchased a new position in Venture Global during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in Venture Global by 218.1% during the 4th 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.

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.