Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE:EGY) by 362.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 48,965 shares of the energy company’s stock after acquiring an additional 38,372 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in VAALCO Energy were worth $281,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in VAALCO Energy by 7,129.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 895,210 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $5,613,000 after acquiring an additional 882,827 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC boosted its holdings in VAALCO Energy by 156.8% in the 3rd quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 1,200,474 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $6,891,000 after buying an additional 733,084 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in VAALCO Energy by 33.2% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,813,832 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $17,643,000 after buying an additional 701,568 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in VAALCO Energy by 66.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 962,824 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $5,527,000 after acquiring an additional 386,071 shares during the period. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in shares of VAALCO Energy in the third quarter worth about $1,676,000. Institutional investors own 50.32% of the company’s stock.

VAALCO Energy Trading Down 2.7 %

EGY opened at $4.32 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $4.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.80. The company has a market capitalization of $448.17 million, a P/E 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.

VAALCO Energy (NYSE:EGY) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 11th. The energy company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by ($0.04). VAALCO Energy had a return on equity of 15.63% and a net margin of 17.93%. The firm had revenue of $140.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $128.64 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.07 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that VAALCO Energy, Inc. will post 0.5 earnings per share for the current year.

VAALCO Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $0.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.79%. VAALCO Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com lowered 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.