Vermilion Energy Inc. $VET Shares Purchased by Royal Bank of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Vermilion Energy Inc. by 49.5%
• Vermilion Energy's stock is down 3.0% and reported a quarterly EPS of ($0.20), missing analysts' estimates.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share, with a yield of 7.0%, to be paid on October 15th.

Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Vermilion Energy Inc. (NYSE:VET - Free Report) TSE: VET by 49.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,516,673 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after buying an additional 502,153 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.98% of Vermilion Energy worth $12,284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Man Group plc grew its holdings in Vermilion Energy by 58.4% during the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 731,359 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $6,875,000 after purchasing an additional 269,692 shares during the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Vermilion Energy by 76.9% in the 1st quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 680,000 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $5,506,000 after acquiring an additional 295,500 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Vermilion Energy by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,412,741 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $51,918,000 after acquiring an additional 346,678 shares in the last quarter. Drum Hill Capital LLC grew its stake in Vermilion Energy by 130.6% in the 1st quarter. Drum Hill Capital LLC now owns 310,128 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,512,000 after acquiring an additional 175,631 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vermilion Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $166,000. 31.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on VET. Desjardins upgraded shares of Vermilion Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Vermilion Energy in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vermilion Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Vermilion Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VET traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $7.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,009,470 shares, compared to its average volume of 751,855. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a PE ratio of -8.51 and a beta of 1.27. Vermilion Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $5.14 and a twelve month high of $10.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $7.69 and a 200 day moving average of $7.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Vermilion Energy (NYSE:VET - Get Free Report) TSE: VET last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.06) by ($0.14). Vermilion Energy had a positive return on equity of 0.17% and a negative net margin of 9.29%.The business had revenue of $392.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $562.50 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Vermilion Energy Inc. will post 0.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vermilion Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 29th will be given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 29th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.0%. Vermilion Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -43.68%.

Vermilion Energy Profile

Vermilion Energy Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of petroleum and natural gas. The company has properties in West Central Alberta, southeast Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and West Pembina in Canada; Wyoming in the United States; southwest Bordeaux and Paris Basin in France; the Netherlands; Germany; Ireland; Croatia; Slovakia; and Australia.