Veren (NYSE:VRN) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Veren Inc. (NYSE:VRN) gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $4.91, but opened at $5.59. Veren shares last traded at $5.57, with a volume of 13,268,003 shares trading hands.

Veren Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 2.08. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Veren Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.0797 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Veren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VRN. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Veren by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,082,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,947,000 after purchasing an additional 507,176 shares in the last quarter. Ninepoint Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of Veren by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. Ninepoint Partners LP now owns 21,100,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,454,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000,000 shares during the period. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Veren during the third quarter worth $65,155,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Veren by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,099,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,353,000 after acquiring an additional 69,969 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Veren by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,196,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,562,000 after buying an additional 158,200 shares in the last quarter. 49.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.