StockNews.com Upgrades VAALCO Energy (NYSE:EGY) to “Strong-Buy”

VAALCO Energy (NYSE:EGY) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday.

VAALCO Energy Trading Up 1.9 %

EGY opened at $6.77 on Thursday. VAALCO Energy has a one year low of $3.51 and a one year high of $7.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $698.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.08 and a beta of 1.29.

VAALCO Energy (NYSE:EGY) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The energy company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.22. VAALCO Energy had a return on equity of 14.34% and a net margin of 13.26%. The company had revenue of $149.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $130.53 million. Analysts predict that VAALCO Energy will post 1.23 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VAALCO Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EGY. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of VAALCO Energy by 2,032.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,121,516 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $28,603,000 after acquiring an additional 3,928,232 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in VAALCO Energy in the fourth quarter worth $8,256,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,486,093 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in VAALCO Energy by 16.0% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 8,358,016 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $31,426,000 after buying an additional 1,151,028 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of VAALCO Energy by 82.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,881,995 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $8,581,000 after buying an additional 850,673 shares in the last quarter. 50.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.