Vermilion Energy (TSE:VET) Trading Up 7.6% – Time to Buy?

Vermilion Energy Inc. (TSE:VET) (NYSE:VET) rose 7.6% on Thursday . The company traded as high as C$18.68 and last traded at C$18.65. Approximately 929,585 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 28% from the average daily volume of 1,299,798 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$17.34.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VET. ATB Cormark Capital Markets increased their price target on Vermilion Energy from C$14.00 to C$16.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. TD Securities lowered Vermilion Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from C$14.00 to C$16.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Vermilion Energy from C$14.00 to C$15.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Desjardins increased their target price on Vermilion Energy from C$13.50 to C$16.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Vermilion Energy from C$12.00 to C$13.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of C$14.94.

Vermilion Energy Trading Down 3.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 58.60, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The company has a market cap of C$2.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -0.02 and a beta of 1.12. The business’s fifty day moving average price is C$14.29 and its 200 day moving average price is C$12.35.

Vermilion Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.135 per share. This represents a $0.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This is a boost from Vermilion Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Vermilion Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -33.55%.

Insider Activity at Vermilion Energy

In other Vermilion Energy news, insider Gerard Schut sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$19.00, for a total value of C$190,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 94,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$1,791,092. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their position. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Vermilion Energy Company Profile

Vermilion Energy Inc is an international oil and gas producing company. It engages in full-cycle exploration and production programs that focus on the acquisition, exploration, development, and optimization of producing properties in North America, Europe, and Australia. The majority of Vermilion’s revenue has derived from the production and sale of petroleum and natural gas. In each market, the company relies on a host of drilling and well completion techniques to keep production at attractive levels.