VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,210,000 shares, a decrease of 8.5% from the December 15th total of 4,600,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 912,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.6 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VAALCO Energy

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EGY. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of VAALCO Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $173,000. Barclays PLC raised its position in VAALCO Energy by 319.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 160,736 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $923,000 after purchasing an additional 122,373 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of VAALCO Energy by 66.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 962,824 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $5,527,000 after purchasing an additional 386,071 shares in the last quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS boosted its position in shares of VAALCO Energy by 5.0% in the third quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 2,538,955 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $14,574,000 after buying an additional 121,005 shares during the period. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of VAALCO Energy by 156.8% in the third quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 1,200,474 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $6,891,000 after buying an additional 733,084 shares in the last quarter. 50.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

VAALCO Energy Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE EGY opened at $4.55 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $477.66 million, a PE ratio of 5.35 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $4.78 and a 200-day moving average of $5.67. VAALCO Energy has a 52-week low of $4.03 and a 52-week high of $7.51.

VAALCO Energy (NYSE:EGY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 11th. The energy company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $140.33 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $128.64 million. VAALCO Energy had a net margin of 17.93% and a return on equity of 15.63%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.07 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that VAALCO Energy will post 0.43 EPS for the current year.

VAALCO Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a $0.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.50%. VAALCO Energy’s payout ratio is 29.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of VAALCO Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th.

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.