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

Key Points

• Venture Global shares fell sharply, opening at $14.16 versus a prior close of $14.79 and last trading at $13.925, down 9.4%.
• Analyst sentiment remains moderately positive: the stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $16.50 average price target, despite mixed recent rating changes.
• The company exceeded quarterly earnings expectations with $0.51 EPS and $4.58 billion in revenue, while increasing its quarterly dividend to $0.04; however, insiders sold roughly 2.49 million shares worth $35.1 million over the last quarter.

Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down before the market opened on Monday. The stock had previously closed at $14.79, but opened at $14.16. Venture Global shares last traded at $13.9250, with a volume of 6,869,660 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Venture Global from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Zacks Research cut Venture Global from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Venture Global from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $15.00 to $21.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $14.00 price objective on shares of Venture Global in a report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Venture Global from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $16.50.

Venture Global Trading Down 9.4%

The stock has a market cap of $33.49 billion, a PE ratio of 10.56 and a beta of 0.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.44, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.19. The company's 50-day moving average price is $13.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.65.

Venture Global (NYSE:VG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter. Venture Global had a return on equity of 34.08% and a net margin of 21.24%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Venture Global, Inc. will post 1.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Venture Global Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th were issued a $0.04 dividend. This is an increase from Venture Global's previous quarterly dividend of $0.0180. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Venture Global's payout ratio is presently 12.60%.

Insider Activity at Venture Global

In related news, COO Brian Cothran sold 152,660 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.15, for a total transaction of $2,465,459.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Fory Musser sold 447,534 shares of Venture Global stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.02, for a total transaction of $6,274,426.68. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 2,493,553 shares of company stock valued at $35,074,470 over the last quarter. 84.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Venture Global

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Venture Global during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. purchased a new stake in Venture Global during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted 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 buying an additional 3,031 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc purchased a new position in Venture Global in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Venture Global by 17,041.2% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,828 shares of the company's stock valued at $92,000 after buying an additional 5,794 shares during the period.

Venture Global Company Profile

Venture Global, Inc NYSE: VG is a U.S.-based liquefied natural gas (LNG) company that develops, constructs, owns and operates LNG export facilities. The company sources natural gas, processes it into LNG and exports the product to customers in international energy markets.

Venture Global's operating and development portfolio is concentrated along the U.S. Gulf Coast, particularly in Louisiana. Its projects include the Calcasieu Pass LNG facility, the Plaquemines LNG facility and additional proposed developments such as CP2 LNG and Delta LNG.

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