Vermilion Energy (NYSE:VET) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Vermilion Energy (NYSE:VET) (TSE:VET) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Vermilion Energy in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Vermilion Energy from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vermilion Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Vermilion Energy in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vermilion Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.00.

Vermilion Energy Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of Vermilion Energy stock opened at $11.90 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.72. The company has a market cap of $1.82 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.88 and a beta of 0.61. Vermilion Energy has a fifty-two week low of $5.14 and a fifty-two week high of $12.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Vermilion Energy (NYSE:VET) (TSE:VET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.33. Vermilion Energy had a positive return on equity of 3.80% and a negative net margin of 34.30%.The firm had revenue of $334.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $384.74 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vermilion Energy will post 0.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vermilion Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.135 dividend. This represents a $0.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. This is a boost from Vermilion Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Vermilion Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -12.09%.

Institutional Trading of Vermilion Energy

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of Vermilion Energy by 178.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,450 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 4,136 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of Vermilion Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $56,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vermilion Energy by 18.9% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,249 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 1,471 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vermilion Energy in the second quarter valued at about $82,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vermilion Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $92,000. 31.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Vermilion Energy

Vermilion Energy Inc is a Canadian-based international oil and gas producer headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. Established in 1994, the company focuses on the exploration, development and production of crude oil and natural gas reserves through its wholly owned and joint venture assets. Vermilion’s upstream operations target a balance of oil and gas projects across various regions, with an emphasis on high-quality resource plays that can deliver stable cash flow and long-term reserves replacement.

Vermilion’s product portfolio includes light and medium crude oil, heavy oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs).