Geopark (NYSE:GPRK) Stock Price Up 3% – Here’s Why

Shares of Geopark Ltd (NYSE:GPRK) were up 3% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $11.27 and last traded at $11.2230. Approximately 67,455 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 786,839 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.90.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Geopark in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $12.00 target price on shares of Geopark in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Geopark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.00.

Geopark Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market cap of $571.40 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.52 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s fifty day moving average is $10.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.85.

Geopark (NYSE:GPRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.10. Geopark had a return on equity of 31.33% and a net margin of 16.00%.The firm had revenue of $143.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $185.50 million.

Geopark Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were paid a $0.023 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $0.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Geopark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.12%.

Insider Activity at Geopark

In related news, Director James Park sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.92, for a total transaction of $1,192,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 692,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,250,046.56. This trade represents a 12.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Institutional Trading of Geopark

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Geopark by 21.2% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,309,031 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $31,436,000 after purchasing an additional 578,178 shares during the period. Flax Pond Capital LLC acquired a new position in Geopark in the 1st quarter worth $3,352,000. Sycale Advisors NY LLC acquired a new position in Geopark in the 1st quarter worth $3,222,000. Aventail Capital Group LP purchased a new position in Geopark in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,164,000. Finally, Banco BTG Pactual S.A. boosted its position in Geopark by 132.4% in the 4th quarter. Banco BTG Pactual S.A. now owns 185,884 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,377,000 after buying an additional 105,884 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.21% of the company’s stock.

About Geopark

GeoPark Limited (NYSE: GPRK) is an independent Latin American oil and gas exploration, development and production company. The company explores for and produces crude oil and natural gas, with activities focused primarily on onshore assets and mature hydrocarbon basins.

Founded in 2002, GeoPark has built a portfolio through exploration, acquisitions and partnerships across South America. Its operations have included Colombia, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Argentina, although its asset base and operating footprint may change as the company develops, acquires or divests properties.

GeoPark’s business is centered on identifying hydrocarbon reserves, developing producing fields and applying operational and technical expertise to improve recovery from existing assets.