GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Strong-Buy Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Monday morning.

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on GeoPark from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th.

GeoPark Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPRK opened at $10.41 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $532.58 million, a PE ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $8.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.19. GeoPark has a twelve month low of $7.24 and a twelve month high of $11.25.

GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by ($0.11). The business 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%. Equities analysts forecast that GeoPark will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

GeoPark Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.147 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.59 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.65%. GeoPark’s dividend payout ratio is 29.95%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GPRK. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of GeoPark by 392.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 8,974 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 7,151 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of GeoPark during the third quarter valued at $44,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its position in shares of GeoPark by 67.6% in the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 79,674 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $627,000 after purchasing an additional 32,131 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new stake in GeoPark during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,834,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in GeoPark during the 3rd quarter valued at about $294,000. 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.