Venture Global (NYSE:VG) Stock Price Down 4.2% on Insider Selling

Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG)’s share price was down 4.2% during trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $14.06 and last traded at $14.1540. Approximately 4,150,425 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 21,763,352 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.78.

Specifically, CFO Jonathan W. Thayer sold 111,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.27, for a total transaction of $1,585,553.97. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Fory Musser sold 2,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.09, for a total value of $26,180,000.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VG has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $18.00 price target on shares of Venture Global in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Venture Global from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Venture Global from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Venture Global from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $12.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Venture Global from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Venture Global currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.27.

Venture Global Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $34.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.40. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $13.58 and its 200 day moving average is $10.10.

Venture Global (NYSE:VG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.07. Venture Global had a net margin of 16.94% and a return on equity of 26.90%. The firm had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter. The business’s revenue was up 58.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Venture Global, Inc. will post 1.38 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 given a $0.018 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. This is a boost from Venture Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. This represents a $0.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Venture Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Venture Global

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Royal Bank of Canada acquired a new stake in Venture Global during the first quarter worth approximately $2,150,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Venture Global during the 1st quarter valued at $152,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Venture Global during the 1st quarter worth $460,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Venture Global during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Amundi bought a new position in shares of Venture Global in the second quarter worth $213,000.

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.