American Century Companies Inc. Increases Stock Position in VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY)

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,901,984 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 312,576 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 3.71% of VAALCO Energy worth $17,052,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. IFP Advisors Inc acquired a new position in VAALCO Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in shares of VAALCO Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of VAALCO Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in VAALCO Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Finally, Zacks Investment Management lifted its position in VAALCO Energy by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 15,419 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 2,527 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.32% of the company’s stock.

VAALCO Energy Stock Down 0.9 %

EGY stock opened at $3.78 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $391.63 million, a PE ratio of 4.44 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a fifty day moving average of $4.10 and a 200-day moving average of $4.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.34. VAALCO Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $3.57 and a one year high of $7.51.

VAALCO Energy (NYSE:EGY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 13th. The energy company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.02. VAALCO Energy had a return on equity of 15.63% and a net margin of 17.93%. The company had revenue of $121.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $108.91 million. As a group, analysts expect that VAALCO Energy, Inc. will post 0.43 EPS for the current year.

VAALCO Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. VAALCO Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other VAALCO Energy news, COO Thor Pruckl sold 10,169 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 174,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $691,218.40. The trade was a 5.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com raised VAALCO Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th.

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.