Epsilon Energy (NASDAQ:EPSN) Stock Price Up 1.5% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Epsilon Energy beat Q1 estimates with EPS of $0.21 (vs. $0.04 expected) and revenue of $14.82M (vs. $11.36M), but the company still shows a negative net margin and a negative trailing P/E.
• Analyst sentiment is bearish: Weiss Ratings downgraded EPSN to a Sell and the stock carries an average analyst rating of Sell.
• Epsilon pays a quarterly dividend of $0.0625 (annualized yield ~4.2%) and has seen sizable recent stakes from Yorktown and other funds, leaving institutional ownership around 60.3%.

Epsilon Energy Ltd. (NASDAQ:EPSN - Get Free Report) shares traded up 1.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $6.11 and last traded at $6.00. 163,623 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 33% from the average session volume of 242,449 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.91.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings cut Epsilon Energy from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Sell".

Epsilon Energy Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $181.50 million, a P/E ratio of -28.57 and a beta of -0.17. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.09.

Epsilon Energy (NASDAQ:EPSN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 24th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.17. Epsilon Energy had a positive return on equity of 11.52% and a negative net margin of 9.39%.The company had revenue of $14.82 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.36 million.

Epsilon Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.0625 dividend. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Epsilon Energy's payout ratio is -119.05%.

Epsilon Energy declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Yorktown Energy Partners XI L.P. bought a new position in Epsilon Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $12,897,000. Yorktown Energy Partners X L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Epsilon Energy in the fourth quarter worth $12,327,000. Yorktown Energy Partners IX L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Epsilon Energy in the fourth quarter worth $5,480,000. HarbourVest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Epsilon Energy in the fourth quarter worth $3,900,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Epsilon Energy by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 794,062 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,685,000 after purchasing an additional 3,047 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.33% of the company's stock.

About Epsilon Energy

Epsilon Energy NASDAQ: EPSN is an independent exploration and production company specializing in the acquisition, development and production of unconventional and conventional oil and natural gas properties. Originally founded as Brewster Energy in 2002 and rebranded to Epsilon Energy in 2011, the company pursues a disciplined approach to resource development, leveraging its technical expertise to optimize well performance and manage operational costs.

The company's core asset base is concentrated in the Appalachian Basin, where it holds acreage in key shale formations across Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio.

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