Epsilon Energy (NASDAQ:EPSN) Issues Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.01 EPS

Key Points

• Epsilon Energy reported quarterly earnings of $0.07 per share, missing the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.01, while revenue exceeded expectations at $11.63 million.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.0625 per share, translating to a 4.4% yield, despite a high payout ratio of 119.05%.
• Wall Street analysts upgraded Epsilon Energy's rating from "hold" to "buy" on August 9th, indicating growing investor confidence in the company's future performance.

Epsilon Energy (NASDAQ:EPSN - Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 13th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.01), Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $11.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.50 million. Epsilon Energy had a net margin of 11.75% and a return on equity of 6.71%.

Epsilon Energy Stock Up 1.9%

NASDAQ EPSN traded up $0.11 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $5.76. 131,064 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 128,370. The firm has a market cap of $127.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.00 and a beta of 0.16. The company has a 50 day moving average of $6.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $6.82. Epsilon Energy has a 52-week low of $4.95 and a 52-week high of $8.50.

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 dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. Epsilon Energy's dividend payout ratio is 104.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded Epsilon Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Epsilon Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Strong Buy" and a consensus target price of $7.70.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Epsilon Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EPSN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Epsilon Energy by 23,847.4% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 9,100 shares of the company's stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 9,062 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Epsilon Energy in the first quarter valued at $77,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. acquired a new stake in Epsilon Energy in the second quarter valued at $78,000. Invesco Ltd. purchased a new stake in Epsilon Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $94,000. Finally, PDT Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Epsilon Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $95,000. 60.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.