Vermilion Energy (NYSE:VET) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Vermilion Energy Inc. (NYSE:VET) (TSE:VET)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $12.30, but opened at $11.86. Vermilion Energy shares last traded at $12.08, with a volume of 156,117 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on VET. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Vermilion Energy from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. TD Securities restated a “hold” rating on shares of Vermilion Energy in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Zacks Research cut shares of Vermilion Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. ATB Cormark Capital Markets upgraded shares of Vermilion Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Vermilion Energy in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vermilion Energy presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $15.00.

Vermilion Energy Trading Down 2.8%

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of $1.83 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.13 and a beta of 0.36.

Vermilion Energy (NYSE:VET) (TSE:VET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.67) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.22 by ($0.89). The company had revenue of $369.04 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $368.66 million. Vermilion Energy had a negative return on equity of 2.40% and a negative net margin of 43.49%. On average, analysts forecast that Vermilion Energy Inc. will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vermilion Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.135 dividend. This represents a $0.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Vermilion Energy’s payout ratio is -10.47%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vermilion Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VET. Aegis Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Vermilion Energy by 67.2% in 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. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its stake in shares of Vermilion Energy by 192.4% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 156,621 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,225,000 after buying an additional 103,049 shares during the period. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in Vermilion Energy by 118.2% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 5,592,890 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $46,645,000 after purchasing an additional 3,029,328 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vermilion Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,656,000. Finally, Arbiter Partners Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Vermilion Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,957,000. 31.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).