Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Vermilion Energy (NYSE:VET)

Vermilion Energy Inc. (NYSE:VET) (TSE:VET) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Traders purchased 2,428 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 214% compared to the average daily volume of 773 call options.

Vermilion Energy Trading Down 0.3%

Vermilion Energy stock traded down $0.04 during trading on Friday, hitting $12.98. The company had a trading volume of 197,611 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,826,635. The stock has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.14 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Vermilion Energy has a 1-year low of $7.10 and a 1-year high of $14.82. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $10.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.58.

Vermilion Energy (NYSE:VET) (TSE:VET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The oil and gas company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.57. Vermilion Energy had a positive return on equity of 5.26% and a negative net margin of 22.48%.The company had revenue of $390.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $330.39 million.

Vermilion Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $0.135 dividend. This represents a $0.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Vermilion Energy’s payout ratio is currently -18.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on VET shares. Zacks Research raised Vermilion Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Vermilion Energy in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Vermilion Energy in a report on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Vermilion Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Vermilion Energy from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vermilion Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VET. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Vermilion Energy by 251.0% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,397 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,714 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in Vermilion Energy by 178.7% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,450 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 4,136 shares during the period. State of Wyoming lifted its position in shares of Vermilion Energy by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 8,929 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 1,747 shares in the last quarter. Amundi acquired a new stake in shares of Vermilion Energy during the first quarter worth about $143,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vermilion Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $92,000. 31.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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).