Short Interest in GeoPark Limited (NYSE:GPRK) Rises By 33.5%

GeoPark Limited (NYSE:GPRK) was the target of a large increase in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,010,000 shares, an increase of 33.5% from the December 31st total of 756,700 shares. Currently, 2.7% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 520,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPRK. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of GeoPark in the 3rd quarter valued at $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 about $2,834,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of GeoPark by 77.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 366,380 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,883,000 after acquiring an additional 159,861 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 7,151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of GeoPark during the 3rd quarter worth about $294,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GPRK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered GeoPark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price 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 Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of GPRK traded up $0.11 during trading on Thursday, reaching $9.43. 618,364 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 894,056. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53. GeoPark has a twelve month low of $7.24 and a twelve month high of $11.72. The stock has a market cap of $482.18 million, a PE ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 1.35.

GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) last announced 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). GeoPark had a net margin of 14.97% and a return on equity of 57.93%. The firm had revenue of $159.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $156.99 million. On average, 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 paid a dividend of $0.147 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.24%. GeoPark’s payout ratio is 29.95%.

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.