VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY) was the target of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,600,000 shares, an increase of 8.2% from the November 30th total of 4,250,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 905,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.1 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of VAALCO Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th.

VAALCO Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VAALCO Energy stock opened at $4.37 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $453.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.14 and a beta of 1.18. VAALCO Energy has a twelve month low of $4.03 and a twelve month high of $7.51. The company’s fifty day moving average is $5.02 and its 200 day moving average is $5.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

VAALCO Energy (NYSE:EGY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 11th. The energy company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by ($0.04). VAALCO Energy had a net margin of 17.93% and a return on equity of 15.63%. The company had revenue of $140.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $128.64 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.07 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that VAALCO Energy will post 0.5 EPS for the current year.

VAALCO Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. VAALCO Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.41%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EGY. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of VAALCO Energy by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,285,378 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $24,598,000 after buying an additional 176,259 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of VAALCO Energy by 33.2% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,813,832 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $17,643,000 after acquiring an additional 701,568 shares in the last quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS grew its position in VAALCO Energy by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 2,538,955 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $14,574,000 after purchasing an additional 121,005 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in VAALCO Energy by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,493,587 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $14,316,000 after purchasing an additional 109,090 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in VAALCO Energy by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,318,650 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $8,268,000 after buying an additional 76,779 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.32% of the company’s stock.

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.