Vermilion Energy (NYSE:VET) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Vermilion Energy Inc. (NYSE:VET) (TSE:VET) shares gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $13.29, but opened at $13.75. Vermilion Energy shares last traded at $13.8640, with a volume of 688,267 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on VET. Zacks Research upgraded Vermilion Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Wall Street Zen cut Vermilion Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vermilion Energy in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Securities restated a “hold” rating on shares of Vermilion Energy in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Vermilion Energy from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vermilion Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.00.

Vermilion Energy Stock Performance

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 has a market cap of $2.13 billion, a PE ratio of -4.55 and a beta of 0.61. The business’s 50-day moving average is $10.82 and its 200 day moving average is $9.10.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $334.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $384.74 million. Vermilion Energy had a negative net margin of 34.30% and a positive return on equity of 3.80%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Vermilion Energy Inc. will post 0.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vermilion Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.135 per share. This represents a $0.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Vermilion Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Vermilion Energy’s dividend payout ratio is -13.07%.

Institutional Trading of Vermilion Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in shares of Vermilion Energy by 118.2% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 5,592,890 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $46,645,000 after purchasing an additional 3,029,328 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Vermilion Energy by 130.2% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,174,261 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $26,483,000 after buying an additional 1,795,636 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Vermilion Energy by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,512,118 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $58,745,000 after buying an additional 1,388,489 shares during the last quarter. LM Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Vermilion Energy by 28.2% during the 4th quarter. LM Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,772,600 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $31,434,000 after buying an additional 830,600 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Vermilion Energy by 19.5% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,863,101 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $30,173,000 after buying an additional 631,655 shares during the period. 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).