Marshall Wace LLP Sells 19,575 Shares of VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY)

Marshall Wace LLP cut its holdings in shares of VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY) by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 650,966 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 19,575 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP owned approximately 0.63% of VAALCO Energy worth $4,082,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in EGY. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in VAALCO Energy by 7,129.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 895,210 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $5,613,000 after acquiring an additional 882,827 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 701,568 shares in the last quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS boosted its holdings in VAALCO Energy by 5.9% during the second quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 2,417,950 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $15,161,000 after purchasing an additional 134,615 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in VAALCO Energy by 2.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,024,145 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $41,988,000 after purchasing an additional 124,853 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC grew its position in VAALCO Energy by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 982,350 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $6,847,000 after purchasing an additional 105,145 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.32% of the company’s stock.

VAALCO Energy Price Performance

EGY opened at $6.02 on Thursday. VAALCO Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3.85 and a fifty-two week high of $7.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $6.17 and a 200 day moving average of $6.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market cap of $622.81 million, a P/E ratio of 10.03 and a beta of 1.18.

VAALCO Energy (NYSE:EGY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The energy company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $116.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $119.30 million. VAALCO Energy had a net margin of 17.82% and a return on equity of 16.00%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.11 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that VAALCO Energy, Inc. will post 0.59 EPS for the current year.

VAALCO Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 23rd were given a $0.063 dividend. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 23rd. VAALCO Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on EGY. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on VAALCO Energy from $7.25 to $8.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. StockNews.com cut VAALCO Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 6th.

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.