Venture Global (NYSE:VG) Shares Down 8.4% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Shares fell 8.4% intraday to $8.57 (low $8.76) on Tuesday, with volume roughly 2.5M shares—about 79% below its average session volume.
• Analysts are mixed: the consensus rating is Hold with an average target of $13.11, while Bank of America cut its target to $11 and JPMorgan downgraded the stock to neutral.
• Key fundamentals show a $21.5B market cap, P/E ~11.3, high leverage (debt-to-equity 3.46) and weak liquidity (current ratio 0.83), and insiders sold ~1.23M shares (~$8.69M) last quarter despite insiders reportedly owning 86.73%.

Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 8.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $8.76 and last traded at $8.57. 2,498,801 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 11,634,318 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.36.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Venture Global from $15.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Scotiabank set a $9.00 price objective on shares of Venture Global in a research note on Friday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Venture Global from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $10.00 to $11.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. US Capital Advisors upgraded Venture Global to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $8.00 price objective on Venture Global in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $13.11.

Venture Global Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $21.54 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.28. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $7.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.46.

Venture Global Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a $0.017 dividend. This represents a $0.07 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. Venture Global's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.97%.

Insider Activity

In other Venture Global news, VP Fory Musser sold 188,337 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.80, for a total value of $1,469,028.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Thomas Earl sold 1,000,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.89, for a total value of $6,890,000.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 1,231,238 shares of company stock worth $8,693,656 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 86.73% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Venture Global in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,148,000. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Venture Global during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,641,000. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Venture Global in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $815,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Venture Global by 61.1% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 616,643 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,607,000 after acquiring an additional 233,978 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ausbil Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Venture Global in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,706,000.

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.

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