Vermilion Energy (NYSE:VET) Upgraded to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Vermilion Energy (NYSE:VET) (TSE:VET) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on VET. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Vermilion Energy in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Vermilion Energy in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. ATB Cormark Capital Markets raised shares of Vermilion Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Vermilion Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Vermilion Energy in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vermilion Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.00.

Vermilion Energy Stock Down 4.4%

Shares of NYSE VET opened at $11.10 on Monday. 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 50-day moving average price of $12.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.76. Vermilion Energy has a 1 year low of $7.00 and a 1 year high of $14.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.70 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.91 and a beta of 0.29.

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

Vermilion Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.135 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Vermilion Energy’s payout ratio is -10.47%.

Institutional Trading of Vermilion Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VET. Aegis Financial Corp boosted its position in Vermilion Energy by 67.2% during the 3rd quarter. Aegis Financial Corp now owns 870,492 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,801,000 after buying an additional 350,000 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its position in Vermilion Energy by 192.4% during the 3rd 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. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Vermilion Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $2,656,000. UBS Group AG boosted its position in Vermilion Energy by 118.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 5,592,890 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $46,645,000 after buying an additional 3,029,328 shares during the period. Finally, Arbiter Partners Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vermilion Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,957,000. Institutional investors own 31.91% of the company’s stock.

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).