Vermilion Energy (NYSE:VET) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Vermilion Energy (NYSE:VET) (TSE:VET) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on VET. Wall Street Zen downgraded Vermilion Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Vermilion Energy in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Vermilion Energy from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Vermilion Energy in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vermilion Energy in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. One research 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.00.

Vermilion Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:VET opened at $11.64 on Tuesday. Vermilion Energy has a 52 week low of $5.14 and a 52 week high of $12.00. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.70. 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 $1.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.80 and a beta of 0.61.

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

Vermilion Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.135 dividend. This is a boost from Vermilion Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Vermilion Energy’s payout ratio is currently -12.09%.

Institutional Trading of Vermilion Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VET. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Vermilion Energy by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 8,214,261 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $64,161,000 after purchasing an additional 359,878 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted 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 buying an additional 1,388,489 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Vermilion Energy by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,731,403 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $56,005,000 after buying an additional 73,242 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in shares of Vermilion Energy by 118.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 3,029,328 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Vermilion Energy by 19.5% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,863,101 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $30,173,000 after acquiring an additional 631,655 shares during the last quarter. 31.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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).