VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY) Shares Bought by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY - Free Report) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,901,984 shares of the energy company's stock after acquiring an additional 312,576 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 3.71% of VAALCO Energy worth $17,052,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of VAALCO Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $173,000. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in VAALCO Energy by 319.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 160,736 shares of the energy company's stock worth $923,000 after acquiring an additional 122,373 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in VAALCO Energy by 66.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 962,824 shares of the energy company's stock worth $5,527,000 after acquiring an additional 386,071 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of VAALCO Energy by 172.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 152,798 shares of the energy company's stock worth $877,000 after acquiring an additional 96,627 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of VAALCO Energy by 4.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,285,378 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $24,598,000 after acquiring an additional 176,259 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.32% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Thor Pruckl sold 10,169 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.95, for a total value of $40,167.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 174,992 shares of the company's stock, valued at $691,218.40. The trade was a 5.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of VAALCO Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th.

VAALCO Energy Stock Performance

Shares of EGY traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $3.27. 2,152,378 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 963,166. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $4.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.78. VAALCO Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $3.10 and a 12-month high of $7.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $339.24 million, a P/E ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 1.16.

VAALCO Energy (NYSE:EGY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The energy company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.02. VAALCO Energy had a return on equity of 15.63% and a net margin of 17.93%. The business had revenue of $121.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $108.91 million. Equities analysts anticipate that VAALCO Energy, Inc. will post 0.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

VAALCO Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.65%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. VAALCO Energy's payout ratio is 45.45%.

VAALCO Energy 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.