Veren (NYSE:VRN) Upgraded to Strong-Buy by Raymond James

Raymond James upgraded shares of Veren (NYSE:VRN) to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Veren from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 12th.

Veren Trading Down 1.4 %

Veren stock opened at $6.03 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -75.31 and a beta of 2.14. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $6.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.49. Veren has a 1 year low of $5.95 and a 1 year high of $9.28.

Veren (NYSE:VRN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28. The firm had revenue of $852.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $821.00 million. Veren had a negative net margin of 0.69% and a positive return on equity of 13.50%. Research analysts anticipate that Veren will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Veren Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Sunday, September 15th were paid a $0.0834 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This is a positive change from Veren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.33 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.54%. Veren’s dividend payout ratio is presently -412.50%.

Institutional Trading of Veren

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VRN. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in Veren in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Veren during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Veren in the second quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new stake in shares of Veren in the second quarter worth $85,000. Finally, Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group bought a new position in Veren in the second quarter valued at $103,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.37% of the company’s stock.

Veren Company Profile

Veren Inc explores, develops, and produces oil and gas properties in Canada and the United States. The company focuses on crude oil, tight oil, natural gas liquids, shale gas, and natural gas reserves. Its properties are located in the provinces of Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, and Manitoba; and the states of North Dakota.