Renaissance Technologies LLC Sells 372,266 Shares of VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY)

Renaissance Technologies LLC cut its stake in VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY) by 18.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,612,025 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 372,266 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in VAALCO Energy were worth $7,045,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. IFP Advisors Inc bought a new position in VAALCO Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in shares of VAALCO Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of VAALCO Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in VAALCO Energy in the fourth quarter worth $59,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in VAALCO Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $60,000. 50.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded VAALCO Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th.

VAALCO Energy Stock Up 3.1 %

Shares of VAALCO Energy stock opened at $3.49 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $3.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.59. VAALCO Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $3.00 and a 52-week high of $7.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $361.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.75.

VAALCO Energy (NYSE:EGY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 13th. The energy company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $121.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $108.91 million. VAALCO Energy had a net margin of 17.93% and a return on equity of 15.63%. Equities research analysts forecast that VAALCO Energy, Inc. will post 0.43 EPS for the current year.

VAALCO Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.0625 dividend. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. VAALCO Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.45%.

Insider Activity

In other VAALCO Energy news, COO Thor Pruckl sold 10,169 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.95, for a total transaction of $40,167.55. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 174,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $691,218.40. The trade was a 5.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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.