Epsilon Energy (NASDAQ:EPSN) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Epsilon Energy has been downgraded from a "buy" to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, indicating a change in analysts' assessment of the stock's potential.
• The company's stock is currently trading at $5.63, with a 52-week range between $4.95 and $8.50, reflecting significant fluctuations in its market performance.
• Epsilon Energy reported a revenue of $11.63 million this quarter, surpassing analyst estimates, but disappointed with earnings per share of $0.07, falling short of the expected $0.08.

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Epsilon Energy (NASDAQ:EPSN - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Sunday morning.

Epsilon Energy Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of Epsilon Energy stock traded up $0.1250 during trading on Friday, hitting $5.7750. 61,704 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 112,870. The firm has a market cap of $127.40 million, a P/E ratio of 24.17 and a beta of 0.16. Epsilon Energy has a 52-week low of $4.95 and a 52-week high of $8.50. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $6.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.83.

Epsilon Energy (NASDAQ:EPSN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 13th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.08 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $11.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.50 million. Epsilon Energy had a net margin of 11.75% and a return on equity of 6.71%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Epsilon Energy will post 0.2 EPS for the current year.

Epsilon Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a $0.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. Epsilon Energy's payout ratio is presently 104.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Andrew Williamson acquired 10,000 shares of Epsilon Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $5.64 per share, with a total value of $56,400.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 60,000 shares in the company, valued at $338,400. This trade represents a 20.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Solas Capital Management, Llc sold 74,427 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.48, for a total value of $556,713.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,694,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,631,419.20. This represents a 1.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Epsilon Energy

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EPSN. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey purchased a new stake in Epsilon Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in Epsilon Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $67,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Epsilon Energy by 23,847.4% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 9,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 9,062 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Epsilon Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $77,000. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. purchased a new stake in Epsilon Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $77,000. 60.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Epsilon Energy

Epsilon Energy Ltd., a North American onshore independent natural gas and oil company, engages in the acquisition, development, gathering, and production of natural oil and gas reserves in the United States. The company operates through Upstream and Gathering System segments. It has natural gas production in the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania; and oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas production in the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico, and Anadarko Basin in Oklahoma.