Vermilion Energy (NYSE:VET) Cut to Hold at Zacks Research

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

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vermilion Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Vermilion Energy in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. ATB Cormark Capital Markets upgraded shares of Vermilion Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Vermilion Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Vermilion Energy from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.00.

Vermilion Energy Trading Down 0.2%

Vermilion Energy stock opened at $12.42 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.90 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.05 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Vermilion Energy has a 1 year low of $5.70 and a 1 year high of $14.82. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $11.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.55.

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

Vermilion Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.135 per share. This is an increase from Vermilion Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Vermilion Energy’s payout ratio is presently -13.07%.

Institutional Trading of Vermilion Energy

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VET. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vermilion Energy by 51.4% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,630,488 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $13,207,000 after purchasing an additional 553,281 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Vermilion Energy by 197.1% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 693,788 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,051,000 after purchasing an additional 460,247 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vermilion Energy during the second quarter valued at $573,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Vermilion Energy by 20.0% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 127,675 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $929,000 after purchasing an additional 21,268 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Vermilion Energy by 31.3% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 637,107 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,638,000 after purchasing an additional 151,895 shares during the period. 31.91% of the stock is 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).