Short Interest in VOC Energy Trust (NYSE:VOC) Expands By 211.9%

VOC Energy Trust (NYSE:VOC) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 23,639 shares, a growth of 211.9% from the June 15th total of 7,580 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 64,722 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.4 days. Approximately 0.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VOC Energy Trust

A hedge fund recently bought a new stake in VOC Energy Trust stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in VOC Energy Trust (NYSE:VOC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 10,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $27,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC owned 0.06% of VOC Energy Trust as of its most recent SEC filing.

VOC Energy Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VOC traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $3.14. The stock had a trading volume of 26,436 shares, compared to its average volume of 106,893. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $2.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.14 and a beta of 0.13. VOC Energy Trust has a 1-year low of $2.60 and a 1-year high of $3.84.

VOC Energy Trust (NYSE:VOC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $1.59 million for the quarter. VOC Energy Trust had a return on equity of 71.27% and a net margin of 90.03%.

VOC Energy Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.095 per share. This represents a $0.38 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.1%. This is a positive change from VOC Energy Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. VOC Energy Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 86.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings upgraded VOC Energy Trust from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Sell”.

About VOC Energy Trust

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.