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

Veren Inc. (NYSE:VRN) saw 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. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 8,240,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days. Approximately 2.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Veren

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRN. Ninepoint Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Veren during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $125,920,000. Bank of Montreal Can purchased a new stake in Veren in the second quarter valued at $105,665,000. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Veren in the 3rd quarter valued at $65,155,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Veren during the 2nd quarter worth $79,409,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Veren during the 2nd quarter worth about $74,306,000. 49.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Raymond James began coverage on Veren in a report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “strong-buy” rating and a $13.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Veren from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st.

Veren Price Performance

NYSE VRN traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $5.46. 19,423,157 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,783,801. The company has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a PE ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 2.13. 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 has a 52-week low of $4.39 and a 52-week high of $9.28. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $5.14 and its 200-day moving average is $6.24.

Veren Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Sunday, December 15th were issued a $0.085 dividend. This represents a $0.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.23%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This is a boost from Veren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Veren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.57%.

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.