Short Interest in VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY) Increases By 7.3%

VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY – Get Rating) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 5,450,000 shares, a growth of 7.3% from the February 13th total of 5,080,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,650,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VAALCO Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EGY. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of VAALCO Energy by 2,032.4% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,121,516 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $28,603,000 after purchasing an additional 3,928,232 shares during the period. First Sabrepoint Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of VAALCO Energy in the fourth quarter worth $7,524,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew 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 worth $12,317,000 after acquiring an additional 1,486,093 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew 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 worth $8,581,000 after acquiring an additional 850,673 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new stake in shares of VAALCO Energy in the third quarter worth $2,837,000. Institutional investors own 31.61% of the company’s stock.

VAALCO Energy Stock Down 3.3 %

EGY traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $4.08. 733,096 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,298,965. The company has a market cap of $442.19 million, a PE ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.60. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $4.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.83. VAALCO Energy has a one year low of $3.88 and a one year high of $8.77.

VAALCO Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 24th will be given a $0.0625 dividend. This is a positive change from VAALCO Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 23rd. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.13%. VAALCO Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on EGY. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of VAALCO Energy in a research report on Monday, March 6th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of VAALCO Energy in a research report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of VAALCO Energy in a research report on Wednesday, March 1st. They set a “buy” rating on the stock.

About VAALCO Energy

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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.