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 report released on Thursday morning.

VAALCO Energy Stock Performance

NYSE EGY opened at $6.64 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $685.71 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.86 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50 day moving average of $5.57 and a 200-day moving average of $4.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. VAALCO Energy has a 1-year low of $3.51 and a 1-year high of $7.51.

VAALCO Energy (NYSE:EGY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 13th. The energy company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $149.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $130.53 million. VAALCO Energy had a net margin of 13.26% and a return on equity of 14.34%. On average, equities analysts forecast that VAALCO Energy will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VAALCO Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This is a positive change from VAALCO Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.80%. VAALCO Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.64%.

Institutional Trading of VAALCO Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of VAALCO Energy by 13.2% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,192,299 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $5,234,000 after purchasing an additional 138,810 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in shares of VAALCO Energy by 1.3% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 237,100 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,041,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of VAALCO Energy by 0.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,666,535 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $24,876,000 after purchasing an additional 26,551 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of VAALCO Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, Yorktown Management & Research Co Inc increased its holdings in shares of VAALCO Energy by 56.9% in the third quarter. Yorktown Management & Research Co Inc now owns 80,000 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 29,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.