VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY) Short Interest Up 13.2% in April

VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,180,000 shares, a growth of 13.2% from the March 31st total of 2,810,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,120,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days.

VAALCO Energy Trading Down 3.9 %

Shares of VAALCO Energy stock traded down $0.25 on Wednesday, hitting $6.15. 1,055,812 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,062,348. The company has a market capitalization of $641.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.43 and a beta of 1.29. VAALCO Energy has a one year low of $3.51 and a one year high of $7.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The company has a fifty day moving average of $5.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4.95.

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

VAALCO Energy Increases Dividend

The business 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 was Thursday, March 7th. This is an increase from VAALCO Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. VAALCO Energy's dividend payout ratio is 44.64%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new position in VAALCO Energy during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in VAALCO Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $71,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in VAALCO Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $52,000. Simplicity Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of VAALCO Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of VAALCO Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $83,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.32% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of VAALCO Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th.

About VAALCO Energy

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.

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