Vermilion Energy Inc. (NYSE:VET) Short Interest Up 175.2% in July

Key Points

• Short interest in Vermilion Energy Inc. rose 175.2% in July, totaling 15,550,000 shares, with a short-interest ratio of 11.2 days.
• Several institutional investors increased their stakes in the company, with Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC leading with a 160% increase in its position during the second quarter.
• The company reported an EPS of $0.07 for its last quarter, missing estimates, and has recently cut its dividend, resulting in a payout ratio of -237.50%.

Vermilion Energy Inc. (NYSE:VET - Get Free Report) TSE: VET saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 15,550,000 shares, agrowthof175.2% from the June 30th total of 5,650,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,390,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 11.2 days. Currently,10.2% of the company's stock are short sold. Currently,10.2% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,390,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 11.2 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vermilion Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its position in shares of Vermilion Energy by 105.9% in the second quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 43,243 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $315,000 after acquiring an additional 22,236 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Vermilion Energy by 4.3% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 461,032 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $3,358,000 after acquiring an additional 18,926 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Vermilion Energy by 160.0% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 57,728 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $420,000 after acquiring an additional 35,525 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vermilion Energy by 24.0% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,778 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,504 shares during the period. Finally, Hilltop National Bank bought a new stake in shares of Vermilion Energy in the second quarter valued at about $218,000. 31.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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 report on Thursday, June 5th. National Bankshares restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Vermilion Energy in a report on Friday, April 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Vermilion Energy Price Performance

Shares of VET opened at $7.96 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -49.75 and a beta of 1.22. Vermilion Energy has a 1-year low of $5.14 and a 1-year high of $10.85. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $7.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $7.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Vermilion Energy (NYSE:VET - Get Free Report) TSE: VET last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The oil and gas company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.10). Vermilion Energy had a negative net margin of 1.71% and a negative return on equity of 1.22%. The company had revenue of $395.26 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $569.00 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Vermilion Energy will post 0.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vermilion Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st were issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 466.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Vermilion Energy's payout ratio is currently -237.50%.

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.

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