Epsilon Energy (NASDAQ:EPSN) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Epsilon Energy (NASDAQ:EPSN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Sunday morning.

Epsilon Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EPSN opened at $5.63 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $7.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.84. Epsilon Energy has a 1-year low of $4.95 and a 1-year high of $8.50. The company has a market cap of $124.20 million, a PE ratio of 23.46 and a beta of 0.16.

Epsilon Energy (NASDAQ:EPSN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 13th. The company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.08 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $11.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.50 million. Epsilon Energy had a return on equity of 6.71% and a net margin of 11.75%. Analysts anticipate that Epsilon Energy will post 0.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Epsilon Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. Epsilon Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 104.17%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Solas Capital Management, Llc sold 74,427 shares of Epsilon Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.48, for a total value of $556,713.96. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 3,694,040 shares in the company, valued at $27,631,419.20. The trade was a 1.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 7.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Epsilon Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EPSN. Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Epsilon Energy during the 1st quarter worth $151,000. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in Epsilon Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $67,000. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in Epsilon Energy by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 144,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $896,000 after buying an additional 12,550 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its holdings in Epsilon Energy by 23.1% in the first quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 16,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 3,047 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Epsilon Energy by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 701,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,354,000 after acquiring an additional 18,358 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.33% of the company’s stock.

About Epsilon Energy

Epsilon Energy Ltd., a North American onshore independent natural gas and oil company, engages in the acquisition, development, gathering, and production of natural oil and gas reserves in the United States. The company operates through Upstream and Gathering System segments. It has natural gas production in the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania; and oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas production in the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico, and Anadarko Basin in Oklahoma.