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

StockNews.com cut shares of VAALCO Energy (NYSE:EGY) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

VAALCO Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:EGY opened at $4.31 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $447.13 million, a P/E ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 1.18. VAALCO Energy has a twelve month low of $4.03 and a twelve month high of $7.51. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $5.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

VAALCO Energy (NYSE:EGY) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 11th. The energy company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $140.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $128.64 million. VAALCO Energy had a return on equity of 15.63% and a net margin of 17.93%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.07 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that VAALCO Energy will post 0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VAALCO Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders 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 5.80%. VAALCO Energy’s payout ratio is 29.41%.

Institutional Trading of VAALCO Energy

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Zacks Investment Management increased its stake in VAALCO Energy by 19.6% during the third quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 15,419 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 2,527 shares during the last quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of VAALCO Energy by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC now owns 47,424 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 3,314 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of VAALCO Energy by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC now owns 79,559 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 3,836 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in VAALCO Energy by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 168,581 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,057,000 after buying an additional 3,978 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in VAALCO Energy by 25.9% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 19,352 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $111,000 after buying an additional 3,978 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.32% of the company’s stock.

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.