VAALCO Energy (NYSE:EGY) Shares Gap Up to $6.39

VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $6.39, but opened at $6.61. VAALCO Energy shares last traded at $6.63, with a volume of 233,303 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of VAALCO Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th.

VAALCO Energy Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $667.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.43 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.95. 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $149.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $130.53 million. As a group, analysts predict that VAALCO Energy, Inc. will post 0.2 EPS for the current year.

VAALCO Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $0.063 per share. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This is a positive change from VAALCO Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. VAALCO Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.64%.

Institutional Trading of VAALCO Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in EGY. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new position in VAALCO Energy during the third quarter worth $38,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of VAALCO Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $52,000. Simplicity Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of VAALCO Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $52,000. Navellier & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of VAALCO Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $67,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in VAALCO Energy by 34.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,609 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 4,020 shares during the period. 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.