VAALCO Energy (NYSE:EGY) Shares Gap Up to $6.39

VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY) shares gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $6.39, but opened at $6.61. VAALCO Energy shares last traded at $6.63, with a volume of 233,303 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com cut VAALCO Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday.

VAALCO Energy Stock Up 5.5 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $696.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.71 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $5.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4.92.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $149.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $130.53 million. VAALCO Energy had a return on equity of 14.34% and a net margin of 13.26%. On average, equities analysts expect that VAALCO Energy, Inc. will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VAALCO Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $0.063 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 yield of 3.74%. VAALCO Energy’s payout ratio is 44.64%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VAALCO Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new stake in VAALCO Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in VAALCO Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,000. Simplicity Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in VAALCO Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,000. Simplicity Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in VAALCO Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $83,000. Finally, Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI increased its holdings in shares of VAALCO Energy by 9,600.0% in the 1st quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 14,550 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 14,400 shares during the last quarter. 50.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.