Analyzing Veren (VRN) and Its Peers

Veren (NYSE:VRN) is one of 281 publicly-traded companies in the “Crude petroleum & natural gas” industry, but how does it compare to its competitors? We will compare Veren to similar companies based on the strength of its profitability, earnings, risk, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Dividends

Veren pays an annual dividend of $0.33 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.0%. Veren pays out -412.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Crude petroleum & natural gas” companies pay a dividend yield of 10.7% and pay out 116.8% of their earnings in the form of a dividend.

Risk and Volatility

Veren has a beta of 2.16, indicating that its share price is 116% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Veren’s competitors have a beta of -12.96, indicating that their average share price is 1,396% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

49.4% of Veren shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 53.3% of shares of all “Crude petroleum & natural gas” companies are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Veren shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 9.4% of shares of all “Crude petroleum & natural gas” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Veren and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Veren	-0.69%	13.50%	7.39%
Veren Competitors	-2.39%	7.79%	6.87%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Veren and its competitors, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Veren	0	0	1	0	3.00
Veren Competitors	2139	11544	16165	605	2.50

Veren currently has a consensus target price of $15.00, suggesting a potential upside of 127.96%. As a group, “Crude petroleum & natural gas” companies have a potential upside of 21.78%. Given Veren’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Veren is more favorable than its competitors.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Veren and its competitors revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Veren	$4.28 billion	$422.48 million	-82.25
Veren Competitors	$720.90 billion	$1.06 billion	17.03

Veren’s competitors have higher revenue and earnings than Veren. Veren is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Summary

Veren beats its competitors on 8 of the 15 factors compared.

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. The company was formerly known as Crescent Point Energy Corp. and changed its name to Veren Inc. in May 2024. Veren Inc. was incorporated in 1994 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.