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 report published on Friday morning.

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on GeoPark from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th.

GeoPark Stock Down 2.6 %

NYSE GPRK opened at $10.48 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $9.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.28. The company has a market cap of $535.90 million, a P/E ratio of 5.32 and a beta of 1.35. GeoPark has a one year low of $7.24 and a one year high of $11.72.

GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $159.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $156.99 million. GeoPark had a return on equity of 57.93% and a net margin of 14.97%. Research analysts anticipate that GeoPark will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GeoPark Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a $0.147 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.61%. GeoPark’s payout ratio is presently 29.95%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GeoPark

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in shares of GeoPark in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new position in GeoPark in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in GeoPark during the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in GeoPark by 392.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 8,974 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 7,151 shares during the period. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of GeoPark in the 3rd quarter valued at about $148,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.