Short Interest in VOC Energy Trust (NYSE:VOC) Expands By 120.6%

VOC Energy Trust (NYSE:VOC) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 56,358 shares, a growth of 120.6% from the February 26th total of 25,545 shares. Currently, 0.3% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 277,937 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.2 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

An institutional investor recently bought a new position in VOC Energy Trust stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VOC Energy Trust (NYSE:VOC) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 10,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $27,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of VOC Energy Trust as of its most recent SEC filing.

VOC Energy Trust Stock Performance

Shares of VOC traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $3.61. The stock had a trading volume of 106,701 shares, compared to its average volume of 128,683. VOC Energy Trust has a 12-month low of $2.44 and a 12-month high of $3.84. The firm has a market cap of $61.29 million, a P/E ratio of 8.19 and a beta of 0.30. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $3.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.00.

VOC Energy Trust (NYSE:VOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 24th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $2.08 million during the quarter. VOC Energy Trust had a return on equity of 66.55% and a net margin of 85.78%.

VOC Energy Trust Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.0%. VOC Energy Trust’s payout ratio is presently 81.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VOC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised VOC Energy Trust to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of VOC Energy Trust in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Sell”.

VOC Energy Trust Company Profile

VOC Energy Trust is a Canada-based unincorporated, open-ended royalty trust focused on upstream oil and gas interests. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, the trust holds non-operated royalty and net profit interests in conventional petroleum and natural gas properties. VOC’s structure allows it to collect a percentage of production revenues without directly managing exploration or drilling activities.

The trust’s asset portfolio is concentrated in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, with producing properties across Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia.