Bleakley Financial Group LLC Invests $52,000 in VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 11,685 shares of the energy company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of VAALCO Energy by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC now owns 39,101 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 2,023 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of VAALCO Energy by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 48,768 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 2,692 shares during the period. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY increased its holdings in shares of VAALCO Energy by 80.4% in the 4th quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 6,446 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 2,872 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of VAALCO Energy by 35.8% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 11,310 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 2,980 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in shares of VAALCO Energy by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 237,100 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,041,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100 shares during the period. 50.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

VAALCO Energy Stock Performance

Shares of EGY opened at $6.81 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 1.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $702.75 million, a P/E ratio of 12.15 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s fifty day moving average is $5.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.78. VAALCO Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $3.51 and a 1 year high of $7.51.

VAALCO Energy (NYSE:EGY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 13th. The energy company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $149.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $130.53 million. VAALCO Energy had a net margin of 13.26% and a return on equity of 14.34%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that VAALCO Energy, Inc. will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current year.

VAALCO Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $0.063 dividend. This is a boost from VAALCO Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. VAALCO Energy’s payout ratio is currently 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 research note on Tuesday, April 9th.

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.