Vermilion Energy Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:VET)

Vermilion Energy Inc. (NYSE:VET) (TSE:VET) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 3,211 call options on the company. This is an increase of 209% compared to the typical volume of 1,039 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on VET shares. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Vermilion Energy in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Vermilion Energy in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vermilion Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 17th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Vermilion Energy in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Desjardins cut Vermilion Energy from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vermilion Energy

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vermilion Energy by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 8,214,261 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $64,161,000 after buying an additional 359,878 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Vermilion Energy by 22.7% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,512,118 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $58,745,000 after acquiring an additional 1,388,489 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Vermilion Energy by 3.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,658,161 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $52,007,000 after acquiring an additional 222,344 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Vermilion Energy by 19.5% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,863,101 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $30,173,000 after acquiring an additional 631,655 shares during the period. Finally, LM Asset IM Inc. grew its stake in Vermilion Energy by 14.3% in the second quarter. LM Asset IM Inc. now owns 2,790,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $20,327,000 after acquiring an additional 350,000 shares during the period. 31.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vermilion Energy Trading Up 6.9%

Shares of NYSE VET opened at $9.44 on Thursday. Vermilion Energy has a fifty-two week low of $5.14 and a fifty-two week high of $10.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.58 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.06.

Vermilion Energy (NYSE:VET) (TSE:VET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.04 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $337.28 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $373.83 million. Vermilion Energy had a negative net margin of 12.08% and a negative return on equity of 1.90%. On average, analysts predict that Vermilion Energy will post 0.22 EPS for the current year.

Vermilion Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. Vermilion Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -33.64%.

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).