Venture Global (NYSE:VG) Stock Price Down 6% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Venture Global shares fell about 6% to $12.31 on Monday, trading 4.6M shares—roughly 70% below its average session volume.
• Analysts are mixed: MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average price target of $13.10, while recent firm targets range from $8.00 to $14.00 and ratings span Sell/Hold/Buy.
• The company beat estimates with $0.41 EPS and $4.45B revenue (up 191.7% YoY) and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.018, but it has high leverage (debt/equity 3.24) and insiders sold 2.45M shares recently.

Venture Global, Inc. (NYSE:VG - Get Free Report) shares fell 6% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $12.17 and last traded at $12.31. 4,604,750 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 15,470,279 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.10.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Venture Global from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Venture Global in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $8.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Venture Global from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $13.00 price objective on shares of Venture Global in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Venture Global from $11.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Venture Global has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $13.10.

Venture Global Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24. The company has a market cap of $29.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.26 and a beta of 5.67. The business's fifty day moving average is $9.58 and its 200 day moving average is $9.64.

Venture Global (NYSE:VG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $4.45 billion for the quarter. Venture Global had a net margin of 18.38% and a return on equity of 27.96%. Venture Global's revenue for the quarter was up 191.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Venture Global, Inc. will post 0.52 EPS for the current year.

Venture Global Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a $0.018 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $0.07 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from Venture Global's previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. Venture Global's dividend payout ratio is 8.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Venture Global news, CAO Sarah Blake sold 300,000 shares of Venture Global stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.85, for a total value of $3,555,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Thomas Earl sold 1,000,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.83, for a total value of $11,830,000.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 2,450,000 shares of company stock worth $28,236,193 in the last three months. 86.73% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Venture Global

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Corient Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Venture Global in the fourth quarter worth about $104,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in Venture Global by 1,614.1% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 33,631 shares of the company's stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 31,669 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Global Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Venture Global during the 4th quarter worth $531,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Venture Global by 53.1% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 263,799 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,799,000 after buying an additional 91,524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC boosted its stake in Venture Global by 346.6% in the fourth quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 47,906 shares of the company's stock valued at $327,000 after acquiring an additional 37,180 shares in the last quarter.

Venture Global Company Profile

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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