Veren Inc. (NYSE:VRN) Short Interest Update

Veren Inc. (NYSE:VRN - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 13,560,000 shares, a drop of 19.9% from the December 15th total of 16,930,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 8,240,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days. Currently, 2.3% of the company's shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Veren Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of VRN traded up $0.08 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $5.51. 12,280,325 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,039,225. Veren has a twelve month low of $4.39 and a twelve month high of $9.28. The stock has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a PE ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 2.13. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $6.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Veren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 15th were paid a $0.085 dividend. This is a positive change from Veren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.17%. Veren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.86%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ninepoint Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Veren in the second quarter valued at approximately $125,920,000. Bank of Montreal Can purchased a new position in Veren in the second quarter worth approximately $105,665,000. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Veren in the third quarter worth approximately $65,155,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP purchased a new position in Veren in the second quarter worth approximately $79,409,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in Veren in the second quarter worth approximately $74,306,000. Hedge funds and other 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.