JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has $1.61 Million Position in Veren Inc. (NYSE:VRN)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Veren Inc. (NYSE:VRN - Free Report) by 642.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 260,958 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 225,827 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s holdings in Veren were worth $1,605,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Veren during the second quarter valued at about $42,000. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co bought a new stake in shares of Veren during the third quarter valued at approximately $79,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Veren in the second quarter valued at $103,000. Evergreen Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Veren in the second quarter worth $112,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in Veren during the second quarter worth $124,000. 49.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Veren Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of VRN stock traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $5.28. The company had a trading volume of 17,829,869 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,666,056. Veren Inc. has a 1-year low of $4.39 and a 1-year high of $9.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 2.13. The company has a 50 day moving average of $5.17 and a 200 day moving average of $6.14.

Veren (NYSE:VRN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $813.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $738.93 million. Veren had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 26.93%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.31 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Veren Inc. will post 0.96 EPS for the current year.

Veren Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 15th were issued a $0.085 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This is a positive change from Veren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.44%. Veren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on VRN shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Veren from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Veren in a research report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $13.00 price target for the company.

About Veren

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.