Veren Inc. (NYSE:VRN) Short Interest Down 19.9% in December

Veren Inc. (NYSE:VRN) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 13,560,000 shares, a decrease of 19.9% from the December 15th total of 16,930,000 shares. Currently, 2.3% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 8,240,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days.

Institutional Trading of Veren

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Veren in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Olympiad Research LP grew its stake in shares of Veren by 36.2% during the third quarter. Olympiad Research LP now owns 29,088 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,000 after purchasing an additional 7,724 shares in the last quarter. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co acquired a new position in shares of Veren during the third quarter worth $79,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group purchased a new position in Veren in the second quarter valued at $103,000. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in Veren in the second quarter valued at $108,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.37% of the company’s stock.

Veren Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VRN opened at $5.43 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 2.16. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $5.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.25. Veren has a 1-year low of $4.39 and a 1-year high of $9.28.

Veren Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Sunday, December 15th were paid a dividend of $0.085 per share. This represents a $0.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.26%. 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. Veren’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VRN. Raymond James started coverage on shares of Veren in a report on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating and a $13.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target 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 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.