Vermilion Energy (TSE:VET) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Vermilion Energy Inc. (TSE:VET) (NYSE:VET)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as C$16.39 and last traded at C$16.25, with a volume of 828689 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$15.79.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on VET. ATB Cormark Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Vermilion Energy from C$14.00 to C$16.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Vermilion Energy from C$14.00 to C$15.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. National Bank Financial upped their target price on Vermilion Energy from C$14.50 to C$18.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Desjardins raised their price target on Vermilion Energy from C$13.50 to C$16.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Vermilion Energy from C$12.00 to C$13.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of C$14.94.

Vermilion Energy Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 58.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of C$13.62 and a 200-day moving average price of C$12.09. The firm has a market cap of C$2.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -0.02 and a beta of 1.12.

Vermilion Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.135 per share. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This is an increase from Vermilion Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Vermilion Energy’s payout ratio is currently -33.55%.

Insider Activity at Vermilion Energy

In other news, Director Myron Maurice Stadnyk bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were acquired at an average price of C$11.56 per share, with a total value of C$57,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 50,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$578,000. The trade was a 11.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

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.