GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at StockNews.com

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

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

GeoPark Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:GPRK opened at $9.15 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53. The firm has a market cap of $468.14 million, a P/E ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 1.37. GeoPark has a 12 month low of $7.24 and a 12 month high of $11.72. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $8.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.24.

GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) last released 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). GeoPark had a net margin of 14.97% and a return on equity of 57.93%. The company had revenue of $159.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $156.99 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that GeoPark will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GeoPark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a $0.147 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.43%. GeoPark’s payout ratio is presently 29.44%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GeoPark

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in GeoPark by 3,251.7% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 379,483 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,139,000 after acquiring an additional 368,161 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC acquired a new position in shares of GeoPark in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,834,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of GeoPark in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,929,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in GeoPark during the 2nd quarter worth $2,261,000. Finally, Deltec Asset Management LLC raised its stake in GeoPark by 997.3% during the 3rd quarter. Deltec Asset Management LLC now owns 131,678 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,036,000 after buying an additional 119,678 shares during the period. 68.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.