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

Shares of Vermilion Energy Inc. (TSE:VET) (NYSE:VET) traded down 13.8% on Thursday 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 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 subject of several other reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Vermilion Energy from C$16.00 to C$14.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. TD Securities lowered their price objective on shares of Vermilion Energy from C$18.00 to C$17.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. National Bankshares raised their target price on Vermilion Energy from C$18.00 to C$19.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Vermilion Energy from C$17.00 to C$16.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 30th. Finally, Desjardins downgraded Vermilion Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from C$19.00 to C$14.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vermilion Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$16.75.

Vermilion Energy Price Performance

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 business’s fifty day moving average price is C$11.52 and its 200-day moving average price is C$12.98. The stock has a market capitalization of C$1.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.51, 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Vermilion Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.49%. 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.