GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) Upgraded at StockNews.com

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

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target 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 Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of GeoPark stock 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 price-to-earnings ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 1.37. GeoPark has a twelve month low of $7.24 and a twelve month high of $11.72. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $8.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.23.

GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.11). GeoPark had a return on equity of 57.93% and a net margin of 14.97%. The firm had revenue of $159.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $156.99 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that GeoPark will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GeoPark Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 6.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. GeoPark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.44%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GeoPark

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in GeoPark by 3,251.7% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 379,483 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,139,000 after buying an additional 368,161 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC bought a new position in GeoPark in the third quarter worth approximately $2,834,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new position in GeoPark during the 2nd quarter worth $2,929,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in GeoPark during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,261,000. Finally, Deltec Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of GeoPark by 997.3% in 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.