Investors Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on VAALCO Energy (NYSE:EGY)

VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY) saw some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors acquired 6,034 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 924% compared to the average daily volume of 589 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Zacks Investment Management lifted its stake in shares of VAALCO Energy by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 15,419 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 2,527 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in VAALCO Energy by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 59,794 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $261,000 after purchasing an additional 2,584 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted its stake in VAALCO Energy by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 294,929 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,289,000 after purchasing an additional 2,875 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in VAALCO Energy by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 55,639 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 3,142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalina Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in VAALCO Energy by 19.5% in the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 20,334 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 3,315 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of VAALCO Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday.

VAALCO Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:EGY traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $4.11. The company had a trading volume of 525,049 shares, compared to its average volume of 974,222. 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 has a 52 week low of $3.57 and a 52 week high of $7.51. The firm has a market cap of $431.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 1.16. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $4.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.99.

VAALCO Energy (NYSE:EGY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The energy company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.02. VAALCO Energy had a net margin of 17.93% and a return on equity of 15.63%. The business had revenue of $121.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $108.91 million. On average, analysts forecast that VAALCO Energy will post 0.43 EPS for the current year.

VAALCO Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.0625 dividend. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. VAALCO Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.41%.

VAALCO Energy Company Profile

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.