Intact Investment Management Inc. Purchases 307,200 Shares of Vermilion Energy Inc. (NYSE:VET)

Intact Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Vermilion Energy Inc. (NYSE:VET) (TSE:VET) by 36.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,147,900 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 307,200 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Vermilion Energy were worth $13,835,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vermilion Energy by 1.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,758,056 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $84,183,000 after buying an additional 81,497 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Vermilion Energy by 10.7% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,586,946 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $52,441,000 after purchasing an additional 346,826 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in Vermilion Energy by 0.7% in the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 2,563,572 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $37,503,000 after purchasing an additional 19,022 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in Vermilion Energy by 142.2% in the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,143,134 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $15,699,000 after purchasing an additional 671,228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Vermilion Energy by 12.4% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,122,380 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $16,419,000 after purchasing an additional 123,882 shares in the last quarter. 31.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, TD Securities upgraded Vermilion Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $25.00.

Vermilion Energy Stock Performance

VET stock traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $12.09. The company had a trading volume of 671,654 shares, compared to its average volume of 797,012. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Vermilion Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.81 and a 52 week high of $15.98. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.19.

Vermilion Energy (NYSE:VET) (TSE:VET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 6th. The oil and gas company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.42. Vermilion Energy had a positive return on equity of 15.75% and a negative net margin of 11.40%. The company had revenue of $384.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $442.92 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Vermilion Energy Inc. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Vermilion Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a dividend of $0.0888 per share. This is an increase from Vermilion Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. Vermilion Energy’s payout ratio is currently -26.13%.

Vermilion Energy Profile

Vermilion Energy Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of petroleum and natural gas. The company has properties in West Central Alberta, southeast Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and West Pembina in Canada; Wyoming in the United States; southwest Bordeaux and Paris Basin in France; the Netherlands; Germany; Ireland; Croatia; Slovakia; and Australia.