Short Interest in Vermilion Energy Inc. (NYSE:VET) Rises By 175.2%

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 was the target of a large growth in short interest in 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 trading volume of 1,390,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 11.2 days. Currently,10.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Currently,10.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,390,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 11.2 days.

Institutional Trading of Vermilion Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Vermilion Energy by 6.4% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 7,760,144 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $62,881,000 after buying an additional 466,695 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vermilion Energy by 5.7% during 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 buying an additional 346,678 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Vermilion Energy by 19.5% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,832,829 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $22,934,000 after purchasing an additional 462,109 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in shares of Vermilion Energy by 0.4% in the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 2,234,437 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $18,092,000 after buying an additional 8,154 shares during the period. Finally, LM Asset IM Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vermilion Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $18,806,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 31.91% of the company's stock.

Vermilion Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VET traded down $0.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $7.52. The stock had a trading volume of 1,366,462 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,286,944. The firm has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a PE ratio of -47.00 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.71. The company has a 50 day moving average of $7.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $7.67. Vermilion Energy has a twelve month low of $5.14 and a twelve month high of $10.85.

Vermilion Energy (NYSE:VET - Get Free Report) TSE: VET last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by ($0.14). Vermilion Energy had a negative return on equity of 1.22% and a negative net margin of 1.71%. The company had revenue of $392.33 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $562.50 million. Research analysts predict that Vermilion Energy will post 0.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vermilion Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a yield of 466.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. Vermilion Energy's dividend payout ratio is -237.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VET has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Vermilion Energy in a report on Friday. Desjardins upgraded shares of Vermilion Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, National Bankshares reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Vermilion Energy in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vermilion Energy has an average rating of "Hold".

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.