Epsilon Energy Ltd. $EPSN Shares Sold by Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in Epsilon Energy Ltd. by 20.6%, selling 54,655 shares and retaining 211,200 shares valued at approximately $1.49 million.
• Epsilon Energy announced a quarterly dividend of $0.0625 per share, with a dividend yield of 4.4% and a payout ratio of 104.17%.
• Despite reporting a net margin of 11.75%, Epsilon Energy's earnings per share for the quarter fell short of analysts' expectations by $0.01, at $0.07 per share.

Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. cut its stake in Epsilon Energy Ltd. (NASDAQ:EPSN - Free Report) by 20.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 211,200 shares of the company's stock after selling 54,655 shares during the quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.96% of Epsilon Energy worth $1,491,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EPSN. Informed Momentum Co LLC purchased a new position in Epsilon Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $584,000. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in Epsilon Energy by 26.0% in the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 181,685 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,283,000 after buying an additional 37,455 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new position in Epsilon Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $151,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Epsilon Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $134,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Epsilon Energy by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 701,186 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,354,000 after buying an additional 18,358 shares in the last quarter. 60.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Epsilon Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, August 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Epsilon Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Strong Buy" and a consensus target price of $7.70.

Epsilon Energy Trading Down 0.2%

EPSN stock traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $5.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 51,400 shares, compared to its average volume of 112,088. The company's 50 day moving average is $6.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.78. The stock has a market cap of $121.55 million, a PE ratio of 22.96 and a beta of 0.12. Epsilon Energy Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $4.95 and a fifty-two week high of $8.50.

Epsilon Energy (NASDAQ:EPSN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 13th. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $11.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.50 million. Epsilon Energy had a return on equity of 6.71% and a net margin of 11.75%. On average, analysts forecast that Epsilon Energy Ltd. will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Epsilon Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. Epsilon Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 104.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 transaction of $556,713.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 3,694,040 shares in the company, valued at $27,631,419.20. This trade represents a 1.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew Williamson purchased 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $5.64 per share, with a total value of $56,400.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 60,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $338,400. The trade was a 20.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 7.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Epsilon Energy Company Profile

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.