GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) Raised to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Friday.

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of GeoPark from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $13.67.

GeoPark Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE GPRK opened at $9.79 on Friday. GeoPark has a one year low of $8.05 and a one year high of $12.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $541.68 million, a P/E ratio of 5.02 and a beta of 1.30.

GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 6th. The oil and gas company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.17). GeoPark had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 84.10%. The business had revenue of $199.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $212.54 million. As a group, analysts expect that GeoPark will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GeoPark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 20th were paid a $0.136 dividend. This is a positive change from GeoPark’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 19th. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.56%. GeoPark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.69%.

Institutional Trading of GeoPark

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in GeoPark during the first quarter valued at $30,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. purchased a new position in shares of GeoPark in the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. NBC Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of GeoPark by 480.0% in the 4th quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 5,800 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 4,800 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in shares of GeoPark by 1,147.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,205 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 3,868 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA purchased a new position in shares of GeoPark in the 2nd quarter worth about $54,000. Hedge funds and other 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.