Millennium Management LLC Purchases Shares of 1,490,850 VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY)

Millennium Management LLC bought a new position in shares of VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,490,850 shares of the energy company's stock, valued at approximately $6,515,000. Millennium Management LLC owned about 1.42% of VAALCO Energy at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in VAALCO Energy by 51.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,468,093 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $10,784,000 after buying an additional 834,398 shares in the last quarter. First Sabrepoint Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of VAALCO Energy by 34.5% in the fourth quarter. First Sabrepoint Capital Management LP now owns 1,950,000 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $8,522,000 after purchasing an additional 500,000 shares during the period. Tieton Capital Management LLC grew its stake in VAALCO Energy by 23.0% in the fourth quarter. Tieton Capital Management LLC now owns 1,805,053 shares of the energy company's stock worth $7,888,000 after purchasing an additional 337,644 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in VAALCO Energy by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,901,984 shares of the energy company's stock worth $17,052,000 after purchasing an additional 312,576 shares during the period. Finally, Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS raised its position in VAALCO Energy by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 2,786,265 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $12,176,000 after purchasing an additional 247,310 shares in the last quarter. 50.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Thor Pruckl sold 10,169 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.95, for a total transaction of $40,167.55. Following the completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

VAALCO Energy Stock Down 2.8%

NYSE EGY traded down $0.09 during trading on Friday, reaching $3.18. 3,515,838 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 953,792. 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 firm has a market cap of $330.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.87. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $3.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4.11.

VAALCO Energy (NYSE:EGY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The energy company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.06. The company had revenue of $110.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.30 million. VAALCO Energy had a net margin of 17.93% and a return on equity of 15.63%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that VAALCO Energy, Inc. will post 0.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

VAALCO Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a $0.0625 dividend. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. VAALCO Energy's payout ratio is 45.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered VAALCO Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th.

VAALCO Energy Company 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.