Vanguard Group Inc. Increases Position in VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY)

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY) by 0.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,666,535 shares of the energy company’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,551 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.05% of VAALCO Energy worth $24,876,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of VAALCO Energy by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,192,299 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $5,234,000 after purchasing an additional 138,810 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in shares of VAALCO Energy by 24.1% in the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 45,078 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 8,759 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of VAALCO Energy by 118.5% in the 3rd quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 39,986 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $176,000 after purchasing an additional 21,685 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of VAALCO Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,017,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of VAALCO Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $318,000. Institutional investors own 50.32% of the company’s stock.

VAALCO Energy Trading Down 2.0 %

NYSE:EGY opened at $7.01 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $723.92 million, a P/E ratio of 12.52 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $5.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4.74. VAALCO Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $3.51 and a 1 year high of $7.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.77.

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

VAALCO Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $0.063 dividend. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This is an increase from VAALCO Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. VAALCO Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of VAALCO Energy from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday.

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.