Vermilion Energy (TSE:VET) Stock Price Down 12% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Shares fell ~12% intraday to C$17.15 (previous close C$19.48) on Wednesday, with trading of ~124,599 shares — about a 91% drop versus the average daily volume of ~1.4 million.
• Several analysts recently raised targets, but the consensus rating remains "Hold" with an average price target of C$15.83 (two Buy, five Hold ratings).
• Vermilion increased its quarterly dividend to C$0.135 (annualized C$0.54, ~3.1% yield), while insiders have recently sold shares and now own roughly 0.16% of the stock.

Shares of Vermilion Energy Inc. (TSE:VET - Get Free Report) NYSE: VET were down 12% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as C$17.09 and last traded at C$17.15. Approximately 124,599 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 1,407,085 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$19.48.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on VET shares. National Bank Financial boosted their target price on shares of Vermilion Energy from C$14.50 to C$18.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Vermilion Energy from C$14.00 to C$15.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Vermilion Energy from C$12.00 to C$13.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Vermilion Energy from C$14.00 to C$15.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Desjardins upped their price objective on shares of Vermilion Energy from C$13.50 to C$16.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of C$15.83.

Vermilion Energy Stock Down 11.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 58.60, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The company has a market cap of C$2.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.08, a P/E/G ratio of -0.02 and a beta of 0.30. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is C$15.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$13.07.

Vermilion Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a $0.135 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Vermilion Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Vermilion Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently -12.24%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Yvonne Jeffery sold 6,332 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of C$19.51, for a total transaction of C$123,537.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 30,527 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$595,581.77. This represents a 17.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Gerard Schut sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$19.00, for a total transaction of C$190,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 94,268 shares of the company's stock, valued at C$1,791,092. This trade represents a 9.59% decrease in their position. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Vermilion Energy

Vermilion Energy Inc is an international oil and gas producing company. It engages in full-cycle exploration and production programs that focus on the acquisition, exploration, development, and optimization of producing properties in North America, Europe, and Australia. The majority of Vermilion's revenue has derived from the production and sale of petroleum and natural gas. In each market, the company relies on a host of drilling and well completion techniques to keep production at attractive levels.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.