HighTower Advisors LLC Has $685,000 Stock Position in Veren Inc. (NYSE:VRN)

HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Veren Inc. (NYSE:VRN) by 139.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 111,112 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 64,707 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Veren were worth $685,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. PDT Partners LLC raised its holdings in Veren by 129.6% in the 3rd quarter. PDT Partners LLC now owns 795,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,891,000 after buying an additional 448,826 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP bought a new position in shares of Veren during the third quarter valued at $125,000. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its holdings in shares of Veren by 266.4% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 277,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,704,000 after purchasing an additional 201,413 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Veren by 11.2% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,975,885 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,505,000 after purchasing an additional 400,068 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DRW Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Veren in the third quarter valued at $1,414,000. 49.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Veren from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Raymond James assumed coverage on Veren in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating and a $13.00 price objective for the company.

Veren Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE VRN opened at $4.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $5.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $6.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 2.16. Veren Inc. has a 1 year low of $4.43 and a 1 year high of $9.28.

Veren Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.085 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.66%. This is an increase from Veren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Veren’s payout ratio is 24.29%.

Veren Profile

Veren Inc explores, develops, and produces oil and gas properties in Canada and the United States. The company focuses on crude oil, tight oil, natural gas liquids, shale gas, and natural gas reserves. Its properties are located in the provinces of Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, and Manitoba; and the states of North Dakota.