VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY) Shares Bought by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY) by 362.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 48,965 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 38,372 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in VAALCO Energy were worth $281,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of VAALCO Energy during the third quarter worth $60,000. Crestmont Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of VAALCO Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $63,000. Zacks Investment Management boosted its position in shares of VAALCO Energy by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 15,419 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 2,527 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new stake in VAALCO Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $93,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in VAALCO Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $109,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.32% of the company’s stock.

VAALCO Energy Price Performance

VAALCO Energy stock opened at $4.32 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $448.17 million, a PE ratio of 5.08 and a beta of 1.19. VAALCO Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $4.03 and a 52 week high of $7.51. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $4.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.80. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 11th. The energy company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.12 by ($0.04). VAALCO Energy had a net margin of 17.93% and a return on equity of 15.63%. The business had revenue of $140.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $128.64 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.07 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that VAALCO Energy, Inc. will post 0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

VAALCO Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. VAALCO Energy’s payout ratio is 29.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.