JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) Price Target to $12.00

GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) had its target price boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $11.50 to $12.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of GeoPark from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th.

GeoPark Stock Down 0.9 %

GeoPark stock opened at $7.99 on Wednesday. GeoPark has a 12 month low of $7.24 and a 12 month high of $11.25. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83. The firm has a market cap of $442.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 1.32.

GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 14th. The oil and gas company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.30). The company had revenue of $190.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $182.74 million. GeoPark had a net margin of 14.28% and a return on equity of 60.77%. Equities analysts predict that GeoPark will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GeoPark Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 29th were issued a $0.147 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 29th. This represents a $0.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.36%. GeoPark’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.43%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GeoPark

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GPRK. Aristides Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of GeoPark during the second quarter worth $286,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new stake in GeoPark in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,929,000. Employees Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in shares of GeoPark during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of GeoPark by 1.9% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,246,617 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $35,550,000 after purchasing an additional 61,454 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of GeoPark by 3,251.7% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 379,483 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,139,000 after purchasing an additional 368,161 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.21% of the company’s stock.

About GeoPark

GeoPark Limited engages in the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas reserves in Chile, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, and Ecuador. GeoPark Limited has a strategic partnership with ONGC Videsh to jointly acquire, invest in, and create value from upstream oil and gas projects across Latin America.