Short Interest in Vermilion Energy Inc. (NYSE:VET) Expands By 31.6%

Vermilion Energy Inc. (NYSE:VET - Get Free Report) TSE: VET was the target of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,700,000 shares, an increase of 31.6% from the March 15th total of 5,850,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,300,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.9 days. Approximately 4.8% of the company's shares are short sold.

Vermilion Energy Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of VET stock traded down $0.29 during trading on Monday, hitting $11.99. 1,134,183 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,280,499. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.80 and a beta of 2.04. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $11.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.26. Vermilion Energy has a twelve month low of $9.81 and a twelve month high of $15.98.

Vermilion Energy (NYSE:VET - Get Free Report) TSE: VET last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 6th. The oil and gas company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $384.17 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $442.92 million. Vermilion Energy had a negative net margin of 11.40% and a positive return on equity of 15.75%. As a group, analysts forecast that Vermilion Energy will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vermilion Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be paid a $0.0888 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. This is a boost from Vermilion Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. Vermilion Energy's payout ratio is -26.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, TD Securities raised shares of Vermilion Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $25.00.

Institutional Trading of Vermilion Energy

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Vermilion Energy by 10.7% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,586,946 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $52,441,000 after acquiring an additional 346,826 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in Vermilion Energy by 88.9% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 194,483 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,858,000 after acquiring an additional 91,526 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Vermilion Energy by 1.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,758,056 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $84,183,000 after acquiring an additional 81,497 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in Vermilion Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $6,210,000. Finally, Causeway Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vermilion Energy in the third quarter worth $2,782,000. 31.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Vermilion Energy

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.