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

Vermilion Energy Inc. (NYSE:VET) (TSE:VET)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $12.46, but opened at $12.90. Vermilion Energy shares last traded at $12.8350, with a volume of 217,682 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on VET shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Vermilion Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Desjardins upgraded Vermilion Energy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Vermilion Energy in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen raised Vermilion Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of Vermilion Energy in a report on Friday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.00.

Vermilion Energy Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $10.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion, a PE ratio of -6.04 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

Vermilion Energy (NYSE:VET) (TSE:VET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The oil and gas company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $330.39 million.

Vermilion Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.135 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. Vermilion Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -18.01%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VET. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Vermilion Energy by 4.6% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 8,214,261 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $64,161,000 after purchasing an additional 359,878 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Vermilion Energy by 22.7% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,512,118 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $58,745,000 after purchasing an additional 1,388,489 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Vermilion Energy by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,731,403 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $56,005,000 after purchasing an additional 73,242 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in 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 worth $46,645,000 after purchasing an additional 3,029,328 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Vermilion Energy by 44.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,870,457 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $67,114,000 after buying an additional 1,487,870 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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).