VAALCO Energy (NYSE:EGY) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of VAALCO Energy (NYSE:EGY - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Tuesday.

VAALCO Energy Stock Up 4.9 %

Shares of NYSE EGY traded up $0.16 on Tuesday, hitting $3.35. The company had a trading volume of 1,354,199 shares, compared to its average volume of 965,989. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. VAALCO Energy has a 12-month low of $3.00 and a 12-month high of $7.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $347.02 million, a P/E ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a 50 day moving average of $3.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.66.

VAALCO Energy (NYSE:EGY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The energy company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $121.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $108.91 million. VAALCO Energy had a return on equity of 15.63% and a net margin of 17.93%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that VAALCO Energy will post 0.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VAALCO Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. VAALCO Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at VAALCO Energy

In other VAALCO Energy news, COO Thor Pruckl sold 10,169 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.95, for a total value of $40,167.55. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 174,992 shares of the company's stock, valued at $691,218.40. This represents a 5.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of VAALCO Energy

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in VAALCO Energy by 66.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 962,824 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $5,527,000 after acquiring an additional 386,071 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of VAALCO Energy by 33.3% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 54,543 shares of the energy company's stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 13,616 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of VAALCO Energy during the third quarter worth about $109,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in VAALCO Energy by 4.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,285,378 shares of the energy company's stock worth $24,598,000 after purchasing an additional 176,259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in VAALCO Energy in the third quarter valued at about $142,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.32% of the company's stock.

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.