Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Vermilion Energy (NYSE:VET)

Vermilion Energy Inc. (NYSE:VET) (TSE:VET) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Monday. Traders purchased 2,584 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 202% compared to the typical daily volume of 856 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vermilion Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VET. Engineers Gate Manager LP raised its holdings in shares of Vermilion Energy by 212.3% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 172,429 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,615,000 after purchasing an additional 117,219 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vermilion Energy by 127.7% during the 2nd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 107,717 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,009,000 after purchasing an additional 60,415 shares during the period. Aegis Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Vermilion Energy by 27.3% during the 2nd quarter. Aegis Financial Corp now owns 3,260,428 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $30,499,000 after purchasing an additional 700,000 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Vermilion Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,116,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Vermilion Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $8,129,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 31.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on VET shares. Weiss Ratings raised Vermilion Energy from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Vermilion Energy in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen raised Vermilion Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Desjardins upgraded Vermilion Energy to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Vermilion Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vermilion Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.00.

Vermilion Energy Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE:VET traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $11.77. 273,652 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,801,578. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.57 and a beta of 0.33. Vermilion Energy has a 52-week low of $7.10 and a 52-week high of $14.82. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.78.

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

Vermilion Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a C$0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Vermilion Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -18.48%.

About Vermilion Energy

Vermilion Energy Inc is an international oil and natural gas exploration and production company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. The company focuses on acquiring, exploring, developing and producing crude oil, natural gas, condensate and natural gas liquids, with an emphasis on operating assets in stable jurisdictions and generating production from conventional and resource plays.

Vermilion’s operations have included properties in Canada and the United States, as well as European and other international markets such as France, the Netherlands, Germany, Croatia and Ireland.