GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) Cut to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday.

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of GeoPark from $11.50 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th.

GeoPark Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GPRK opened at $7.84 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $433.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 1.32. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $8.21 and its 200 day moving average is $9.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83. GeoPark has a 1-year low of $7.24 and a 1-year high of $11.25.

GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The oil and gas company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.30). GeoPark had a net margin of 14.28% and a return on equity of 60.77%. The business had revenue of $190.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $182.74 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that GeoPark will post 3.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GeoPark Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 29th were issued a dividend of $0.147 per share. This represents a $0.59 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.50%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 29th. GeoPark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.43%.

Institutional Trading of GeoPark

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in GeoPark during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Employees Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in GeoPark in the second quarter worth $34,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in GeoPark in the second quarter worth $35,000. Blue Trust Inc. bought a new position in GeoPark during the third quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of GeoPark in the 1st quarter worth about $192,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.21% of the company’s stock.

About GeoPark

GeoPark Limited operates as an oil and natural gas exploration and production company primarily in Chile, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, and other Latin American countries. It engages in the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas reserves. The company was formerly known as GeoPark Holdings Limited and changed its name to GeoPark Limited in July 2013.