Vermilion Energy (NYSE:VET) Cut to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vermilion Energy (NYSE:VET) (TSE:VET) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on VET. Weiss Ratings downgraded Vermilion Energy from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Vermilion Energy in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Desjardins upgraded Vermilion Energy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Vermilion Energy in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Vermilion Energy in a report on Monday, October 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.00.

Vermilion Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VET stock opened at $10.22 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $12.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.64. The company has a market cap of $1.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.48 and a beta of 0.52. Vermilion Energy has a 12 month low of $7.76 and a 12 month high of $14.82.

Vermilion Energy (NYSE:VET) (TSE:VET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.16) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.27 by ($0.43). Vermilion Energy had a negative net margin of 22.78% and a positive return on equity of 4.21%. The business had revenue of $417.06 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $332.96 million.

Vermilion Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be given a C$0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 15th. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.3%. Vermilion Energy’s payout ratio is -17.11%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vermilion Energy

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Vermilion Energy by 44.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,870,457 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $67,114,000 after purchasing an additional 1,487,870 shares during the last quarter. Aegis Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Vermilion Energy by 93.9% in the 1st quarter. Aegis Financial Corp now owns 2,560,428 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $35,175,000 after purchasing an additional 1,239,936 shares during the last quarter. LM Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vermilion Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,468,381. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Vermilion Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,144,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Vermilion Energy by 7,879.7% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,513,981 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $20,867,000 after purchasing an additional 1,495,008 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 31.91% of the company’s stock.

Vermilion Energy Company Profile

Vermilion Energy Inc is a Calgary-based oil and natural gas producer with operations in North America and Europe. The company explores for, develops and produces conventional energy resources, including crude oil and natural gas.

Its operating areas include Canada, the United States, France, the Netherlands, Germany and Croatia. Vermilion’s European natural gas production provides exposure to regional energy markets, while its North American business includes oil and gas assets.

The company traces its roots to 1994 and has expanded through the development and acquisition of producing assets.