VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY) Short Interest Update

VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,850,000 shares, an increase of 17.3% from the February 29th total of 2,430,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 970,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VAALCO Energy

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in VAALCO Energy in the first quarter valued at $40,000. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY boosted its holdings in VAALCO Energy by 80.4% in the fourth quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 6,446 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 2,872 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in VAALCO Energy in the second quarter valued at $61,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in shares of VAALCO Energy during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Prelude Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of VAALCO Energy during the third quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.32% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com cut VAALCO Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 23rd.

VAALCO Energy Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of EGY stock traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $6.97. 1,539,971 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,743,241. VAALCO Energy has a fifty-two week low of $3.51 and a fifty-two week high of $7.05. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4.54. 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 has a market cap of $719.79 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.45 and a beta of 1.23.

VAALCO Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $0.063 per share. This is a boost from VAALCO Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. VAALCO Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.64%.

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.