Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Boosts Stock Holdings in VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY - Free Report) by 51.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,468,093 shares of the energy company's stock after purchasing an additional 834,398 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 2.35% of VAALCO Energy worth $10,784,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in EGY. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of VAALCO Energy by 319.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 160,736 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $923,000 after acquiring an additional 122,373 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 96,627 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of VAALCO Energy by 46.2% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 28,289 shares of the energy company's stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 8,937 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of VAALCO Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $226,000. Finally, Catalina Capital Group LLC lifted its position in VAALCO Energy by 19.5% during the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 20,334 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 3,315 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 50.32% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Thor Pruckl sold 10,169 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.95, for a total transaction of $40,167.55. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 174,992 shares in the company, valued at $691,218.40. The trade was a 5.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of VAALCO Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th.

VAALCO Energy Price Performance

NYSE:EGY traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $3.51. The stock had a trading volume of 340,734 shares, compared to its average volume of 941,703. VAALCO Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $3.00 and a 12 month high of $7.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $368.30 million, a PE ratio of 4.14 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $3.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4.27.

VAALCO Energy (NYSE:EGY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The energy company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.06. VAALCO Energy had a return on equity of 15.63% and a net margin of 17.93%. The business had revenue of $110.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.30 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that VAALCO Energy, Inc. will post 0.43 earnings per share for the current year.

VAALCO Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.13%. VAALCO Energy's payout ratio is 45.45%.

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.