Venture Global (NYSE:VG) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $13.08, but opened at $12.30. Venture Global shares last traded at $12.0370, with a volume of 4,675,765 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of Venture Global in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Venture Global from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Venture Global from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Venture Global from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Venture Global from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.31.

Venture Global Price Performance

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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.74. The stock has a market cap of $29.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.27.

Venture Global (NYSE:VG) last posted its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 58.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Venture Global, Inc. will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Venture Global Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.018 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Venture Global’s payout ratio is currently 7.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Venture Global

In related news, CFO Jonathan W. Thayer sold 111,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.27, for a total transaction of $1,585,553.97. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Fory Musser sold 233,735 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.61, for a total transaction of $2,947,398.35. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 7,881,623 shares of company stock worth $112,229,295 over the last three months. 84.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Venture Global

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VG. Blue Trust Inc. raised 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 during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Venture Global in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. MAI Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Venture Global in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Harbour Investments Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Venture Global in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Venture Global by 218.1% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 4,421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 3,031 shares during the last quarter.

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.