North Star Investment Management Corp. Raises Stock Position in Vaalco Energy Inc $EGY

North Star Investment Management Corp. boosted its stake in Vaalco Energy Inc (NYSE:EGY) by 159.4% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 275,000 shares of the energy company’s stock after acquiring an additional 169,000 shares during the period. North Star Investment Management Corp.’s holdings in Vaalco Energy were worth $1,744,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Vaalco Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $1,638,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vaalco Energy by 7.2% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,740,856 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $19,058,000 after acquiring an additional 316,570 shares during the period. UBS Group AG increased its position in Vaalco Energy by 154.9% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,326,729 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $4,829,000 after acquiring an additional 806,283 shares during the last quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS increased its position in Vaalco Energy by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 3,228,660 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $11,752,000 after acquiring an additional 28,645 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Vaalco Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $126,000. 50.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on EGY. Wall Street Zen cut Vaalco Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Zacks Research upgraded Vaalco Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Vaalco Energy from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vaalco Energy presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $7.30.

Vaalco Energy Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Vaalco Energy stock opened at $4.96 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $517.65 million, a PE ratio of -3.62 and a beta of 0.10. Vaalco Energy Inc has a 1-year low of $3.36 and a 1-year high of $6.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

Vaalco Energy (NYSE:EGY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The energy company reported ($0.45) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by ($0.44). Vaalco Energy had a negative return on equity of 12.74% and a negative net margin of 45.86%.The company had revenue of $62.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $78.20 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Vaalco Energy Inc will post 0.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Vaalco Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were paid a $0.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. Vaalco Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -18.25%.

About Vaalco Energy

Vaalco Energy, Inc is an independent energy company principally engaged in the exploration, development and production of crude oil and natural gas. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Vaalco concentrates on offshore assets in West Africa, with a strategic emphasis on maintaining and optimizing cash-flow–generating properties. Founded in the mid-1980s, the company has built its reputation by focusing on high-impact drilling prospects and extending the productive life of its core fields through targeted infill wells and enhanced recovery techniques.

The company’s primary producing asset is the Etame Marin block offshore Gabon, where Vaalco holds a majority interest and serves as operator.