Vermilion Energy (NYSE:VET) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Vermilion Energy Inc. (NYSE:VET) (TSE:VET)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Friday after ATB Cormark Capital Markets upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a moderate buy rating. The stock had previously closed at $13.29, but opened at $13.75. Vermilion Energy shares last traded at $13.8640, with a volume of 688,267 shares traded.

VET has been the topic of several other research reports. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Vermilion Energy in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vermilion Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. TD Securities restated a “hold” rating on shares of Vermilion Energy in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Zacks Research raised shares of Vermilion Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Vermilion Energy from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vermilion Energy

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in Vermilion Energy by 178.7% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,450 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 4,136 shares during the period. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Vermilion Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 1,471 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vermilion Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $92,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Vermilion Energy by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 11,846 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 1,289 shares during the period. 31.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vermilion Energy Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.55 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company’s fifty day moving average is $10.93 and its 200 day moving average is $9.16.

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

Vermilion Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 3.9%. 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 presently -12.75%.

Vermilion Energy Company Profile

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).