VAALCO Energy (NYSE:EGY) Shares Down 2.7%

Shares of VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY) traded down 2.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $6.45 and last traded at $6.47. 651,013 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 38% from the average session volume of 1,055,024 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.65.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded VAALCO Energy from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th.

VAALCO Energy Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 1.79. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.85. The company has a market cap of $664.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.87 and a beta of 1.29.

VAALCO Energy (NYSE:EGY) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The energy company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.22. VAALCO Energy had a return on equity of 14.34% and a net margin of 13.26%. The company had revenue of $149.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $130.53 million. As a group, research analysts predict that VAALCO Energy, Inc. will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current year.

VAALCO Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $0.063 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.92%. This is a boost from VAALCO Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. VAALCO Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.64%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VAALCO Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in VAALCO Energy by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,666,535 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $24,876,000 after buying an additional 26,551 shares in the last quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lifted its stake in VAALCO Energy by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 2,196,895 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $9,644,000 after buying an additional 79,755 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in VAALCO Energy by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,192,299 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $5,234,000 after buying an additional 138,810 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in VAALCO Energy by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 957,194 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $4,298,000 after buying an additional 71,810 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of VAALCO Energy by 65.4% during the 4th quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 877,205 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $3,939,000 after purchasing an additional 347,005 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.32% of the company’s stock.

VAALCO Energy Company Profile

VAALCO Energy, Inc, an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in Gabon, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, and Canada. The company holds 58.8% interest in the Etame production sharing contract related to the Etame Marin block covering an area of approximately 46,200 gross acres located offshore in the Republic of Gabon in West Africa.