VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY) Short Interest Up 8.2% in December

VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,600,000 shares, a growth of 8.2% from the November 30th total of 4,250,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 905,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.1 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VAALCO Energy

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

VAALCO Energy Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE EGY traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $4.37. 912,209 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 994,471. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.32. VAALCO Energy has a 12 month low of $4.03 and a 12 month high of $7.51. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.83. The company has a market capitalization of $453.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.14 and a beta of 1.18.

VAALCO Energy (NYSE:EGY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 11th. The energy company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.12 by ($0.04). VAALCO Energy had a net margin of 17.93% and a return on equity of 15.63%. The business had revenue of $140.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $128.64 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.07 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that VAALCO Energy will post 0.5 EPS for the current year.

VAALCO Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.72%. VAALCO Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

About VAALCO Energy

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.

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