StockNews.com Lowers VAALCO Energy (NYSE:EGY) to Buy

StockNews.com downgraded shares of VAALCO Energy (NYSE:EGY) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Friday.

VAALCO Energy Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:EGY opened at $6.39 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $659.38 million, a PE ratio of 11.40 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $5.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4.91. VAALCO Energy has a one year low of $3.51 and a one 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 released 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 for 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 0.2 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $0.063 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This is a positive change from VAALCO Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.95%. VAALCO Energy’s payout ratio is currently 44.64%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in VAALCO Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in VAALCO Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $52,000. Simplicity Solutions LLC acquired a new position in VAALCO Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $52,000. Navellier & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in VAALCO Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $67,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in VAALCO Energy by 34.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,609 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 4,020 shares during 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.