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

Vermilion Energy Inc. (NYSE:VET) (TSE:VET)’s share price gapped up before the market opened 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VET. TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Vermilion Energy in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Vermilion Energy in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Zacks Research upgraded Vermilion Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Vermilion Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, ATB Cormark Capital Markets upgraded Vermilion Energy from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.00.

Vermilion Energy Price Performance

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

Vermilion Energy (NYSE:VET) (TSE:VET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Vermilion Energy Inc. will post 0.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Vermilion Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.135 dividend. 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. This is a positive change from Vermilion Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Vermilion Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently -13.07%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Vermilion Energy by 178.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,450 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 4,136 shares during the period. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Vermilion Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $56,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Vermilion Energy by 18.9% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,249 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC bought a new stake in Vermilion Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $92,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in Vermilion Energy by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 11,846 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 1,289 shares during the last quarter. 31.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vermilion Energy Company Profile

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).