Short Interest in Veren Inc. (NYSE:VRN) Rises By 39.6%

Veren Inc. (NYSE:VRN) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 16,240,000 shares, a growth of 39.6% from the February 13th total of 11,630,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 17,170,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.9 days. Currently, 2.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veren

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VRN. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Veren during the third quarter worth $65,155,000. Ninepoint Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Veren by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Ninepoint Partners LP now owns 21,100,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,454,000 after buying an additional 3,000,000 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Veren in the 4th quarter valued at about $12,492,000. Bornite Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Veren during the 4th quarter valued at about $10,280,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in Veren during the fourth quarter worth about $10,269,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.37% of the company’s stock.

Veren Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VRN opened at $6.33 on Tuesday. 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 has a one year low of $4.40 and a one year high of $9.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 2.08. The company’s fifty day moving average is $5.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.57.

Veren Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 15th will be issued a $0.0797 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.04%. Veren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

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.