Vermilion Energy (NYSE:VET) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Vermilion Energy Inc. (NYSE:VET) (TSE:VET) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $12.89, but opened at $13.54. Vermilion Energy shares last traded at $13.4560, with a volume of 279,592 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Vermilion Energy Stock Up 3.2%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market cap of $2.03 billion, a PE ratio of -4.33 and a beta of 0.42. The company’s fifty day moving average is $11.19 and its 200-day moving average is $9.28.

Vermilion Energy (NYSE:VET) (TSE:VET) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $334.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $384.74 million. Vermilion Energy had a positive return on equity of 3.80% and a negative net margin of 34.30%. On average, analysts predict that Vermilion Energy Inc. will post 0.22 EPS for the current year.

Vermilion Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.135 dividend. This is a positive change from Vermilion Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Vermilion Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently -13.07%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vermilion Energy

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VET. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of Vermilion Energy by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 11,846 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 1,289 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in shares of Vermilion Energy by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 26,209 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $218,000 after buying an additional 1,430 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Vermilion Energy by 18.9% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,249 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 1,471 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC grew its position in Vermilion Energy by 14.8% during the third quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 12,989 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $102,000 after buying an additional 1,671 shares during the period. Finally, Hilltop National Bank increased its holdings in Vermilion Energy by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 31,730 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $265,000 after buying an additional 1,720 shares during the last quarter. 31.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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).