Venture Global (NYSE:VG) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Venture Global shares fell sharply at the open, dropping from a $14.26 close to $13.15 before recovering to about $13.69 on heavy volume.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.06; targets in recent reports range from $13 to $18.
• The company slightly exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.51 in EPS versus $0.50 expected on $4.58 billion in revenue, while also maintaining a quarterly dividend of $0.018 per share.

Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG - Get Free Report) shares gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $14.26, but opened at $13.15. Venture Global shares last traded at $13.6930, with a volume of 4,159,186 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VG. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $18.00 price objective on shares of Venture Global in a report on Thursday, May 14th. US Capital Advisors set a $13.00 price target on shares of Venture Global in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Venture Global from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Citigroup raised Venture Global from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $12.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Venture Global in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $14.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $16.06.

Venture Global Price Performance

The company's 50-day moving average is $12.47 and its 200-day moving average is $12.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.96, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.40, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Venture Global (NYSE:VG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.01. Venture Global had a return on equity of 26.90% and a net margin of 16.94%.The business had revenue of $4.58 billion during the quarter. On average, research analysts expect that Venture Global, Inc. will post 1.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Venture Global Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.018 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.07 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Venture Global's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.78%.

Insider Transactions at Venture Global

In other news, CFO Jonathan W. Thayer sold 111,111 shares of Venture Global stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.21, for a total value of $1,578,887.31. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Brian Cothran sold 473,533 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.81, for a total value of $7,013,023.73. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,459,399 shares of company stock valued at $58,670,384. 84.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Venture Global

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Venture Global by 82.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,812,233 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,739,000 after acquiring an additional 4,893,707 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in Venture Global by 520.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 6,279,598 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,827,000 after purchasing an additional 5,268,053 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Venture Global by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,101,668 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,811,000 after purchasing an additional 273,331 shares in the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. raised its position in Venture Global by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 4,963,166 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,849,000 after purchasing an additional 219,505 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Venture Global during the second quarter worth about $76,489,000.

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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