VAALCO Energy (NYSE:EGY) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of VAALCO Energy (NYSE:EGY – Get Rating) in a research report released on Thursday. The firm issued a hold rating on the energy company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on EGY. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on VAALCO Energy in a report on Wednesday, March 1st. They issued a buy rating for the company. Roth Capital reaffirmed a buy rating on shares of VAALCO Energy in a report on Monday, March 6th.

VAALCO Energy Price Performance

Shares of EGY stock opened at $4.16 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. VAALCO Energy has a twelve month low of $3.88 and a twelve month high of $8.77. The company has a market cap of $450.86 million, a P/E ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.60. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.78.

VAALCO Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 24th will be issued a $0.0625 dividend. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 23rd. This is a boost from VAALCO Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. VAALCO Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.40%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VAALCO Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EGY. State Street Corp increased its holdings in VAALCO Energy by 2,032.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,121,516 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $28,603,000 after purchasing an additional 3,928,232 shares in the last quarter. First Sabrepoint Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of VAALCO Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $7,524,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of VAALCO Energy by 122.3% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,701,191 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $12,317,000 after buying an additional 1,486,093 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of VAALCO Energy by 82.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,881,995 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $8,581,000 after buying an additional 850,673 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new stake in shares of VAALCO Energy in the third quarter valued at about $2,837,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 31.61% of the company’s stock.

VAALCO Energy Company Profile

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VAALCO Energy, Inc engages in the acquisition, development, and production of crude oil. It operates through the following segments: Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. The Gabon Segment focuses on the Offshore Gabon-Etame Marin Permit operation. The Equatorial Guinea segment deals with the Equatorial Guinea-Block P operation.