VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY) Shares Sold by Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lessened its stake in VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,182,735 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 14,160 shares during the quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS owned 2.08% of VAALCO Energy worth $9,800,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 138,810 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 3,100 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in VAALCO Energy by 0.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,666,535 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $24,876,000 after purchasing an additional 26,551 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in VAALCO Energy during the fourth quarter worth $52,000. Finally, Yorktown Management & Research Co Inc increased its position 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 buying an additional 29,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

VAALCO Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EGY traded up $0.13 on Friday, hitting $6.77. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 773,519 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,472,878. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $3.51 and a 12-month high of $7.51. The company has a market capitalization of $699.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.08 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $5.62 and a 200-day moving average of $4.82.

VAALCO Energy (NYSE:EGY) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. VAALCO Energy had a return on equity of 14.34% and a net margin of 13.26%. The company had revenue of $149.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $130.53 million. As a group, research analysts predict that VAALCO Energy, Inc. will post 1.23 EPS for the current year.

VAALCO Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $0.063 dividend. This is an increase 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 yield of 3.72%. VAALCO Energy’s payout ratio is presently 44.64%.

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.