Insider Selling: Venture Global (NYSE:VG) CFO Sells $1,585,553.97 in Stock

Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG) CFO Jonathan Thayer sold 111,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Venture Global Trading Down 3.2%

VG opened at $13.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.40, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.17. Venture Global, Inc. has a 1-year low of $5.72 and a 1-year high of $19.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.44.

Venture Global (NYSE:VG) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.07. Venture Global had a net margin of 16.94% and a return on equity of 26.90%. The business had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter. Venture Global’s revenue for the quarter was up 58.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Venture Global, Inc. will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Venture Global Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th were issued a $0.018 dividend. This represents a $0.07 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. This is an increase from Venture Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. Venture Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $18.00 target price on Venture Global in a report on Thursday, May 14th. New Street Research set a $15.00 target price on shares of Venture Global in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of Venture Global in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Venture Global from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Venture Global from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.47.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in Venture Global in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. MAI Capital Management purchased a new stake in Venture Global in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Venture Global by 161.2% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 1,820 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Venture Global by 1,750.0% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 3,500 shares during the period. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in Venture Global in the 4th quarter valued at about $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.