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

StockNews.com upgraded shares of GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

GeoPark Stock Down 4.8 %

Shares of NYSE GPRK opened at $6.28 on Friday. 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 market capitalization of $321.83 million, a P/E ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.93. GeoPark has a 52 week low of $5.66 and a 52 week high of $11.72. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $7.69 and its 200 day moving average is $8.70.

GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The oil and gas company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.43). The firm had revenue of $143.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $141.00 million. GeoPark had a return on equity of 57.93% and a net margin of 14.97%. Sell-side analysts forecast that GeoPark will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GeoPark Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 19th were given a dividend of $0.147 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 19th. This represents a $0.59 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.36%. GeoPark’s payout ratio is currently 32.22%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in GeoPark by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,176,376 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $29,445,000 after purchasing an additional 156,067 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in 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 valued at $2,883,000 after acquiring an additional 159,861 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of GeoPark by 55.1% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 339,337 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,146,000 after acquiring an additional 120,518 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of GeoPark by 43.2% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 223,867 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,075,000 after acquiring an additional 67,573 shares during the period. Finally, Armstrong Fleming & Moore Inc grew its position in shares of GeoPark by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Armstrong Fleming & Moore Inc now owns 193,875 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,797,000 after purchasing an additional 6,149 shares in the last quarter. 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.