PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. Raises Stock Holdings in Veren Inc. (NYSE:VRN)

PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Veren Inc. (NYSE:VRN) by 36.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 101,610 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,940 shares during the period. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd.’s holdings in Veren were worth $626,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VRN. CIBC Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Veren during the second quarter valued at approximately $155,853,000. Ninepoint Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Veren during the second quarter valued at approximately $125,920,000. Bank of Montreal Can acquired a new position in shares of Veren during the second quarter valued at approximately $105,665,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Veren in the second quarter valued at approximately $79,409,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Veren in the second quarter valued at approximately $74,306,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.37% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Veren from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Raymond James started coverage on Veren in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They set a “strong-buy” rating and a $13.00 target price for the company.

Veren Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE:VRN opened at $5.25 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 2.17. The company has a fifty day moving average of $6.01. Veren Inc. has a 12-month low of $4.90 and a 12-month high of $9.28. 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Sunday, December 15th will be issued a $0.085 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is a positive change from Veren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. This represents a $0.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.48%. Veren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.29%.

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.