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The following are today's upgrades for Validea's Earnings Yield Investor model based on the published strategy of Joel Greenblatt. This value model looks for companies with high return on capital and earnings yields.

VAALCO ENERGY, INC. (EGY) is a small-cap value stock in the Oil & Gas Operations industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Joel Greenblatt changed from 80% to 90% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.

Company Description: VAALCO Energy, Inc. is an independent energy company principally engaged in the acquisition, exploration, development and production of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The Company's segments include segments Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. It holds 58.8% participating interest in the Etame Marin block, located offshore Gabon in West Africa. The Etame Marin block covers an area of approximately 46,200 gross acres located 20 miles offshore in water depths of approximately 250 feet. The operations of all segments include exploration for and production of hydrocarbons where commercial reserves have been found and developed. The Company owns an interest in an undeveloped block offshore Equatorial Guinea, West Africa. The Company conducts its operating activities in Egypt, Canada, and offshore Gabon. In Egypt, its interests are spread across two regions: the Eastern Desert, which contains the West Gharib, West Bakr and Northwest Gharib merged concessions, and the Western Desert.

The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy's tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy's criteria.

Detailed Analysis of VAALCO ENERGY, INC.

GEOPARK LTD (GPRK) is a small-cap value stock in the Oil & Gas Operations industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Joel Greenblatt changed from 0% to 100% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.

Company Description: GeoPark Ltd is a Colombia-based company operating in the energy sector. As an oil and gas explorer, operator and consolidator the Company has assets and growth platforms in Colombia, Ecuador, Chile and Brazil. Working interests from operation in 42 hydrocarbon blocks comprise of natural gas exploration and production (E&P) and crude oil production on land as well as offshore across over 700,000 acres. The Del Mosquito block in Argentina's Austral basin, and the Cerro Dona Juana and Loma Cortaderal blocks in the Neuquen basin are wholly owned by GeoPark Holdings Limited, while the Fell block in Chile's Magallanes region is 90% owned by the Company, with the remaining interest in associated infrastructure, production facilities, operating licenses and a technical database are held by state oil firm, Enap.

The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy's tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy's criteria.

Detailed Analysis of GEOPARK LTD

TRINET GROUP INC (TNET) is a mid-cap growth stock in the Business Services industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Joel Greenblatt changed from 70% to 80% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.

Company Description: TriNet Group, Inc. provides small and medium-size businesses with full-service industry-specific human resource (HR) solutions, providing both professional employer organization (PEO) and human resources information system (HRIS) services. The Company offers access to human capital expertise, benefits, risk mitigation, compliance, payroll, and research and development (R&D) tax credit services, all enabled by technology. Its suite of products also includes services and software-based solutions to help streamline workflows by connecting HR, benefits, employee engagement, payroll and time and attendance. It offers six industry-tailored vertical PEO services: TriNet Financial Services, TriNet Life Sciences, TriNet Main Street, TriNet Nonprofit, TriNet Professional Services and TriNet Technology. The Company's HRIS services primarily consists of its self-directed, cloud based HRIS software solution and provides the option to add tools, such as payroll processing and benefits management.

The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy's tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy's criteria.

Detailed Analysis of TRINET GROUP INC

About Joel Greenblatt: In his 2005 bestseller The Little Book That Beats The Market, hedge fund manager Joel Greenblatt laid out a stunningly simple way to beat the market using two -- and only two -- fundamental variables. The "Magic Formula," as he called it, produced back-tested returns of 30.8 percent per year from 1988 through 2004, more than doubling the S&P 500's 12.4 percent return during that time. Greenblatt also produced exceptional returns as managing partner at Gotham Capital, a New York City-based hedge fund he founded. The firm averaged a remarkable 40 percent annualized return over more than two decades.

About Validea: Validea is aninvestment researchservice that follows the published strategies of investment legends. Validea offers both stock analysis and model portfolios based on gurus who have outperformed the market over the long-term, including Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham, Peter Lynch and Martin Zweig. For more information about Validea, click here

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.