Venture Global (NYSE:VG) Trading Down 5.2% – What’s Next?

Shares of Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG) dropped 5.2% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $14.35 and last traded at $14.3180. 1,973,778 shares were traded 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 research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of Venture Global in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Venture Global from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Zacks Research lowered Venture Global from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Venture Global from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.07.

Venture Global Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.34 billion, a PE ratio of 11.66, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.26. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $13.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.81.

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

Venture Global Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Venture Global

In other news, CAO Sarah Blake sold 1,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.02, for a total transaction of $14,020,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Fory Musser sold 447,534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.02, for a total transaction of $6,274,426.68. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 2,340,893 shares of company stock valued at $32,404,567. Insiders own 84.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Venture Global

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of Venture Global by 520.8% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 6,279,598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,827,000 after acquiring an additional 5,268,053 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Venture Global in the second quarter valued at approximately $76,489,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Venture Global by 82.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,812,233 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,739,000 after acquiring an additional 4,893,707 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Venture Global by 135.6% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,174,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,789,000 after acquiring an additional 2,402,771 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Venture Global by 258.1% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,248,477 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,155,000 after purchasing an additional 2,341,253 shares in the last quarter.

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.