Vermilion Energy (TSE:VET) Trading Down 13.8% After Analyst Downgrade

Vermilion Energy Inc. (TSE:VET) (NYSE:VET)’s share price traded down 13.8% on Friday after CIBC lowered their price target on the stock from C$17.00 to C$14.00. The stock traded as low as C$7.83 and last traded at C$8.01. 1,567,002 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 102% from the average session volume of 776,429 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$9.29.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on VET. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Vermilion Energy from C$17.00 to C$16.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 30th. TD Securities decreased their price target on Vermilion Energy from C$18.00 to C$17.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. ATB Capital cut their price objective on Vermilion Energy from C$20.00 to C$17.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 30th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Vermilion Energy from C$16.00 to C$14.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Desjardins lowered shares of Vermilion Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from C$19.00 to C$14.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vermilion Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$16.75.

Vermilion Energy Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of C$1.31 billion, a PE ratio of -1.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -0.02 and a beta of 2.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 35.61, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is C$11.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$12.95.

Vermilion Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This is an increase from Vermilion Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.16%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Vermilion Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently -9.03%.

About Vermilion Energy

Vermilion Energy Inc is an international oil and gas producing company. It engages in full-cycle exploration and production programs that focus on the acquisition, exploration, development, and optimization of producing properties in North America, Europe, and Australia. The majority of Vermilion’s revenue has derived from the production and sale of petroleum and natural gas.