Rafferty Asset Management LLC Has $477,000 Stock Position in VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 109,257 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 7,788 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in VAALCO Energy were worth $477,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of VAALCO Energy by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,901,984 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $17,052,000 after purchasing an additional 312,576 shares during the last quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS increased its position in shares of VAALCO Energy by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 2,786,265 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $12,176,000 after purchasing an additional 247,310 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of VAALCO Energy by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,510,060 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $10,972,000 after purchasing an additional 16,473 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of VAALCO Energy by 51.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,468,093 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $10,784,000 after purchasing an additional 834,398 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Sabrepoint Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of VAALCO Energy by 34.5% during the 4th quarter. First Sabrepoint Capital Management LP now owns 1,950,000 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $8,522,000 after purchasing an additional 500,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered VAALCO Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th.

Insider Transactions at VAALCO Energy

In other news, COO Thor Pruckl sold 10,169 shares of VAALCO Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.95, for a total transaction of $40,167.55. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

VAALCO Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EGY opened at $3.28 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. VAALCO Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $3.00 and a 12 month high of $7.43. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $3.50 and a 200-day moving average of $4.19. The company has a market capitalization of $340.53 million, a P/E ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.87.

VAALCO Energy (NYSE:EGY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The energy company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.06. VAALCO Energy had a return on equity of 15.63% and a net margin of 17.93%. The company had revenue of $110.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.30 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that VAALCO Energy, Inc. will post 0.43 EPS for the current year.

VAALCO Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.62%. VAALCO Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.45%.

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.