Vermilion Energy (NYSE:VET) Upgraded to “Moderate Buy” at ATB Cormark Capital Markets

ATB Cormark Capital Markets upgraded shares of Vermilion Energy (NYSE:VET) (TSE:VET) from a hold rating to a moderate buy rating in a research report report published on Friday morning,Zacks.com reports.

VET has been the subject of several other reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vermilion Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen cut Vermilion Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Vermilion Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Vermilion Energy from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Vermilion Energy in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vermilion Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.00.

Vermilion Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VET opened at $13.92 on Friday. Vermilion Energy has a 1 year low of $5.14 and a 1 year high of $14.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.84. The company’s fifty day moving average is $10.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.55 and a beta of 0.61.

Vermilion Energy (NYSE:VET) (TSE:VET) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.63 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $334.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $384.74 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Vermilion Energy will post 0.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Vermilion Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.135 dividend. This is a boost from Vermilion Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Vermilion Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently -13.07%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vermilion Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VET. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in Vermilion Energy by 178.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,450 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 4,136 shares during the period. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Vermilion Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $56,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Vermilion Energy by 18.9% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,249 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC acquired a new position in Vermilion Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $92,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in Vermilion Energy by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 11,846 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 1,289 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 31.91% of the company’s stock.

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).