Vermilion Energy (NYSE:VET) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Shares of Vermilion Energy Inc. (NYSE:VET) (TSE:VET) gapped up prior to trading on Friday . 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 trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vermilion Energy in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research raised Vermilion Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Vermilion Energy from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Vermilion Energy in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Vermilion Energy in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vermilion Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.00.

Vermilion Energy Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $10.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.10. The stock has a market cap 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.

Vermilion Energy (NYSE:VET) (TSE:VET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $334.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $384.74 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vermilion Energy Inc. 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.135 per share. This is a positive change from Vermilion Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Vermilion Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -13.07%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vermilion Energy

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VET. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its stake in Vermilion Energy by 134.6% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 217,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,695,000 after acquiring an additional 124,500 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP increased its stake in shares of Vermilion Energy by 138.9% during the third quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 105,369 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $823,000 after purchasing an additional 61,272 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Vermilion Energy by 317.5% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,974,742 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $14,423,000 after purchasing an additional 1,501,741 shares during the last quarter. Aegis Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Vermilion Energy by 67.2% during the third quarter. Aegis Financial Corp now owns 870,492 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,801,000 after purchasing an additional 350,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vermilion Energy by 14.1% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,231,446 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $23,588,000 after purchasing an additional 398,617 shares in the last quarter. 31.91% of the stock is currently owned by 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).