GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

GeoPark Limited (NYSE:GPRK) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $11.39 and last traded at $11.38, with a volume of 362814 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $10.41.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on GPRK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of GeoPark from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of GeoPark from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday.

GeoPark Stock Up 6.0 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $564.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.78 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $159.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $156.99 million. GeoPark had a net margin of 14.97% and a return on equity of 57.93%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that GeoPark Limited will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GeoPark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.147 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.33%. GeoPark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.95%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GeoPark

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of GeoPark in the first quarter valued at about $192,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of GeoPark during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Annex Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of GeoPark in the second quarter valued at approximately $594,000. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP bought a new position in GeoPark in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $460,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in GeoPark during the 2nd quarter worth $2,261,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.21% of the company’s stock.

GeoPark Company Profile

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.