VAALCO Energy (NYSE:EGY) Shares Gap Up to $6.39

Shares of VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $6.39, but opened at $6.61. VAALCO Energy shares last traded at $6.63, with a volume of 233,303 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of VAALCO Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday.

VAALCO Energy Trading Up 4.3 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $688.29 million, a PE ratio of 11.90 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $5.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.94.

VAALCO Energy (NYSE:EGY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 13th. The energy company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $149.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $130.53 million. VAALCO Energy had a net margin of 13.26% and a return on equity of 14.34%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that VAALCO Energy, Inc. will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current year.

VAALCO Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $0.063 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This is a boost from VAALCO Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.78%. VAALCO Energy's dividend payout ratio is 44.64%.

Institutional Trading of VAALCO Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Simplicity Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VAALCO Energy in the first quarter worth $83,000. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI boosted its position in shares of VAALCO Energy by 9,600.0% during the first quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 14,550 shares of the energy company's stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 14,400 shares during the last quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of VAALCO Energy during the first quarter worth $136,000. Annex Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of VAALCO Energy by 14.8% during the first quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 221,595 shares of the energy company's stock worth $1,545,000 after acquiring an additional 28,638 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Unison Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of VAALCO Energy by 1.4% during the first quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 128,087 shares of the energy company's stock worth $893,000 after acquiring an additional 1,734 shares during the last quarter. 50.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.