Short Interest in Veren Inc. (NYSE:VRN) Decreases By 19.9%

Veren Inc. (NYSE:VRN) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 13,560,000 shares, a decline of 19.9% from the December 15th total of 16,930,000 shares. Approximately 2.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 8,240,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on VRN. Raymond James began coverage on Veren in a report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating and a $13.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Veren from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st.

Veren Stock Up 0.6 %

VRN stock opened at $5.43 on Wednesday. Veren has a one year low of $4.39 and a one year high of $9.28. The firm has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a PE ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 2.16. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $5.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88.

Veren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 15th were issued a dividend of $0.085 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This is a boost from Veren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.26%. Veren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Veren by 313.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 132,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $813,000 after acquiring an additional 100,279 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Veren by 46.7% in the third quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,458,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,624,000 after purchasing an additional 1,737,840 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Veren by 19.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,038,140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,899,000 after purchasing an additional 653,300 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in Veren during the second quarter worth $28,162,000. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in shares of Veren by 302.4% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 553,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,406,000 after buying an additional 416,265 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.