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

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

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

GeoPark Stock Performance

Shares of GPRK opened at $9.16 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. GeoPark has a 1 year low of $7.24 and a 1 year high of $11.72. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $9.97 and a 200-day moving average of $9.10. The company has a market cap of $468.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.35.

GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas company reported $0.48 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $156.99 million. GeoPark had a net margin of 14.97% and a return on equity of 57.93%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that GeoPark will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current year.

GeoPark Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were issued a dividend of $0.147 per share. This represents a $0.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.42%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. GeoPark’s payout ratio is currently 29.95%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GeoPark

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in GeoPark by 77.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 159,861 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC acquired a new stake in shares of GeoPark during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,834,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of GeoPark during the 2nd quarter worth $2,929,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its holdings in shares of GeoPark by 61.7% in the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 216,084 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,701,000 after acquiring an additional 82,459 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Armstrong Fleming & Moore Inc raised its position in shares of GeoPark by 2.7% during the third quarter. Armstrong Fleming & Moore Inc now owns 187,726 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,477,000 after purchasing an additional 4,859 shares during the period. 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.