VAALCO Energy (NYSE:EGY) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of VAALCO Energy (NYSE:EGY) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Thursday morning.

VAALCO Energy Stock Down 1.3 %

VAALCO Energy stock opened at $6.64 on Thursday. VAALCO Energy has a twelve month low of $3.51 and a twelve month high of $7.51. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $5.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4.80. The stock has a market cap of $685.71 million, a P/E ratio of 11.86 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

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

VAALCO Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $0.063 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This is a boost from VAALCO Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.80%. VAALCO Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.64%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EGY. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of VAALCO Energy by 66.0% during the first quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 23,576 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $154,000 after purchasing an additional 9,376 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of VAALCO Energy by 1,189.3% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 154,276 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,007,000 after acquiring an additional 142,310 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of VAALCO Energy by 15.3% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 721,459 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $4,711,000 after acquiring an additional 95,474 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of VAALCO Energy by 68.0% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 69,286 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $452,000 after acquiring an additional 28,038 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of VAALCO Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $944,000. 50.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.