VAALCO Energy (NYSE:EGY) Trading Up 4.3% After Dividend Announcement

VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY)’s share price traded up 4.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $5.88 and last traded at $5.77. 184,184 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 977,162 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.53.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.63%. VAALCO Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com lowered VAALCO Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

VAALCO Energy Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $560.20 million, a P/E ratio of 6.35 and a beta of 1.19. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

VAALCO Energy (NYSE:EGY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 11th. The energy company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $140.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $128.64 million. VAALCO Energy had a net margin of 17.93% and a return on equity of 15.79%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.07 EPS. Research analysts expect that VAALCO Energy, Inc. will post 0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VAALCO Energy

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of VAALCO Energy by 7,129.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 895,210 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $5,613,000 after buying an additional 882,827 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC increased its stake in VAALCO Energy by 156.8% during the 3rd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 1,200,474 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $6,891,000 after acquiring an additional 733,084 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in VAALCO Energy by 33.2% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,813,832 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $17,643,000 after acquiring an additional 701,568 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of VAALCO Energy by 66.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 962,824 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $5,527,000 after purchasing an additional 386,071 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in shares of VAALCO Energy in the third quarter worth $1,676,000. Institutional investors 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.