Geopark (NYSE:GPRK) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Shares of Geopark Ltd (NYSE:GPRK) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $9.83, but opened at $10.26. Geopark shares last traded at $10.9490, with a volume of 426,812 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on GPRK. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Geopark in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Geopark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.50.

Geopark Stock Up 12.4%

The company has a market capitalization of $571.40 million, a P/E ratio of 7.52 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $9.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.49.

Geopark (NYSE:GPRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $143.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $185.50 million. Geopark had a return on equity of 31.33% and a net margin of 16.00%.

Geopark Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.023 per share. This represents a $0.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. Geopark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Geopark

In other news, Director James Franklin Park sold 120,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.65, for a total value of $1,158,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 792,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,643,938.70. The trade was a 13.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GPRK. VR Advisory Services Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Geopark by 370.9% during the fourth quarter. VR Advisory Services Ltd now owns 1,105,201 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $8,190,000 after purchasing an additional 870,516 shares during the period. Vennlight Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Geopark in the 4th quarter valued at $5,854,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Geopark by 21.2% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,309,031 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $31,436,000 after purchasing an additional 578,178 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of Geopark by 81.5% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 981,131 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,250,000 after buying an additional 440,706 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aventail Capital Group LP purchased a new position in Geopark in the fourth quarter worth $3,164,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.21% of the company’s stock.

Geopark Company Profile

Geopark Ltd. (NYSE:GPRK) is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company focused on Latin America. Founded in 2002 and with corporate offices in Canada and regional headquarters in Bogotá, Colombia, Geopark pursues the discovery and development of unconventional and conventional hydrocarbon resources. The company’s strategy emphasizes asset consolidation in established basins alongside disciplined capital allocation to maximize production efficiency.

The company’s core operations are centered in Colombia’s Llanos Basin, where it holds interests in several producing blocks that deliver light crude oil to local and export markets.