GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy”

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

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

GeoPark Price Performance

Shares of GPRK stock opened at $9.45 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $9.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.10. GeoPark has a 52-week low of $7.24 and a 52-week high of $11.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $483.21 million, a P/E ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 1.35.

GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $159.50 million during 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that GeoPark will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current year.

GeoPark Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a $0.147 dividend. This represents a $0.59 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.23%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. GeoPark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.95%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GeoPark

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of GeoPark during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new stake in GeoPark during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,834,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of GeoPark by 77.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 366,380 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,883,000 after acquiring an additional 159,861 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in GeoPark by 392.3% in the 3rd 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. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in GeoPark in the third quarter worth approximately $294,000. 68.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.