JPMorgan Chase & Co. Purchases 225,827 Shares of Veren Inc. (NYSE:VRN)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Veren Inc. (NYSE:VRN) by 642.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 260,958 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 225,827 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Veren were worth $1,605,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Veren during the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Olympiad Research LP boosted its holdings in Veren by 36.2% in the third quarter. Olympiad Research LP now owns 29,088 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,000 after acquiring an additional 7,724 shares in the last quarter. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co acquired a new stake in Veren in the third quarter worth about $79,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group acquired a new stake in Veren in the second quarter worth about $103,000. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Veren in the second quarter worth about $112,000. Institutional investors own 49.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price 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 assumed 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.

Veren Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of VRN opened at $5.37 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $5.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 2.13. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $4.39 and a one year high of $9.28.

Veren (NYSE:VRN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $813.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $738.93 million. Veren had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 26.93%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.31 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Veren Inc. will post 0.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Veren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 15th were paid a $0.085 dividend. This represents a $0.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This is a positive change from Veren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Veren’s dividend payout ratio is 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.