Raymond James Begins Coverage on Veren (NYSE:VRN)

Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Veren (NYSE:VRN) in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a strong-buy rating and a $13.00 target price on the stock.

Separately, Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Veren from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th.

Veren Trading Down 1.3 %

VRN stock opened at $6.03 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -75.38 and a beta of 2.14. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $6.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Veren has a one year low of $5.95 and a one year high of $9.28.

Veren (NYSE:VRN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.28. Veren had a negative net margin of 0.69% and a positive return on equity of 13.50%. The company had revenue of $852.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $821.00 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Veren will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Veren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Sunday, September 15th were paid a $0.0834 dividend. This is a boost from Veren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.33 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.53%. Veren’s dividend payout ratio is currently -412.50%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veren

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in Veren in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,162,000. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Veren during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $624,000. Ninepoint Partners LP bought a new stake in Veren in the 2nd quarter valued at about $125,920,000. Merewether Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Veren during the 2nd quarter worth $36,681,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Veren during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $686,000. Institutional investors own 49.37% of the company’s stock.

Veren Company 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.