Vermilion Energy (TSE:VET) Shares Down 13.8% on Analyst Downgrade

Vermilion Energy Inc. (TSE:VET) (NYSE:VET) fell 13.8% during mid-day trading on Friday after CIBC lowered their price target on the stock from C$17.00 to C$14.00. The company traded as low as C$7.83 and last traded at C$8.01. 1,567,002 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 102% from the average session volume of 776,429 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$9.29.

VET has been the topic of several other reports. TD Securities cut their target price on shares of Vermilion Energy from C$18.00 to C$17.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. ATB Capital lowered their price target on Vermilion Energy from C$20.00 to C$17.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 30th. Atb Cap Markets lowered shares of Vermilion Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. National Bankshares lifted their target price on Vermilion Energy from C$18.00 to C$19.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Desjardins downgraded Vermilion Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from C$19.00 to C$14.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$16.75.

Vermilion Energy Trading Up 5.4 %

The firm’s 50 day moving average is C$11.42 and its 200 day moving average is C$12.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 35.61, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The company has a market cap of C$1.31 billion, a PE ratio of -1.59, a PEG ratio of -0.02 and a beta of 2.60.

Vermilion Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This is a positive change from Vermilion Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.16%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Vermilion Energy’s payout ratio is -9.03%.

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.