Canoe Financial LP Makes New Investment in Veren Inc. (NYSE:VRN)

Canoe Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of Veren Inc. (NYSE:VRN) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $103,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VRN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Veren by 642.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 260,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,605,000 after acquiring an additional 225,827 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Veren by 19.3% during 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. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Veren by 90.6% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 51,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 24,323 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Veren in the third quarter worth approximately $108,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Veren by 313.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 132,245 shares of the company’s stock worth $813,000 after buying an additional 100,279 shares during the period. 49.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on VRN. Royal Bank of Canada dropped 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. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Veren in a report on Friday, October 18th. They set a “strong-buy” rating and a $13.00 target price for the company.

Veren Price Performance

Shares of Veren stock opened at $5.46 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $5.14 and a 200 day moving average of $6.23. Veren Inc. has a 52 week low of $4.39 and a 52 week high of $9.28. The company has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a PE ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 2.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Veren Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 15th were given a $0.085 dividend. This represents a $0.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.23%. This is a boost from Veren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. 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.