Vermilion Energy (NYSE:VET) Trading 11.7% Higher – Still a Buy?

Shares of Vermilion Energy Inc. (NYSE:VET) (TSE:VET) traded up 11.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $13.87 and last traded at $14.0860. 2,055,897 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 1% from the average session volume of 2,030,859 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.61.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Zacks Research raised Vermilion Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Vermilion Energy in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vermilion Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada increased 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Vermilion Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. One equities research 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vermilion Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.00.

Vermilion Energy Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.71 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.86.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $334.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $384.74 million. Vermilion Energy had a positive return on equity of 3.80% and a negative net margin of 34.30%. As a group, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.135 per share. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. This is an increase from Vermilion Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Vermilion Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently -13.07%.

Institutional Trading of Vermilion Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Vermilion Energy by 178.7% during 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 period. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in Vermilion Energy during the third quarter worth about $56,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Vermilion Energy by 18.9% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,249 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC purchased a new position in Vermilion Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $92,000. Finally, Savant Capital LLC purchased a new position in Vermilion Energy during the second quarter worth about $82,000. 31.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).