GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

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

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of GeoPark from $11.50 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th.

GeoPark Stock Down 3.4 %

Shares of NYSE:GPRK opened at $7.92 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83. The company has a market capitalization of $437.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 1.32. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $8.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.43. GeoPark has a 12-month low of $7.24 and a 12-month high of $11.25.

GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 14th. The oil and gas company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.30). The business had revenue of $190.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $182.74 million. GeoPark had a net margin of 14.28% and a return on equity of 60.77%. Sell-side analysts expect that GeoPark will post 3.09 EPS for the current year.

GeoPark Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 29th were paid a $0.147 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 29th. This represents a $0.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.43%. GeoPark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.43%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GeoPark

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in GeoPark in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in shares of GeoPark during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of GeoPark during the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Blue Trust Inc. bought a new position in GeoPark during the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of GeoPark in the first quarter worth about $192,000. 68.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.