Geopark Ltd (NYSE:GPRK) Short Interest Up 20.6% in December

Geopark Ltd (NYSE:GPRK) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 1,413,219 shares, an increase of 20.6% from the December 15th total of 1,171,848 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 430,621 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.3 days. Currently, 2.8% of the company’s shares are short sold. Currently, 2.8% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 430,621 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.3 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GPRK. Zacks Research raised Geopark to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 1st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Geopark from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Geopark Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of NYSE GPRK traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $7.43. The stock had a trading volume of 732,672 shares, compared to its average volume of 628,610. The company has a current ratio of 2.63, a quick ratio of 2.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.70. The firm has a market cap of $380.94 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.44 and a beta of 0.47. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $7.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.00. Geopark has a 52-week low of $5.66 and a 52-week high of $10.36.

Geopark (NYSE:GPRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.11. Geopark had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 33.42%. The firm had revenue of $125.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $114.00 million. Analysts expect that Geopark will post 1.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Geopark Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 19th were issued a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 19th. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Geopark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.46%.

Institutional Trading of Geopark

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State of Wyoming increased its holdings in shares of Geopark by 39.2% during the 3rd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 9,727 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 2,740 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in Geopark in the second quarter valued at $99,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Geopark in the second quarter worth about $113,000. PharVision Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Geopark in the third quarter worth about $117,000. Finally, Virtus Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Geopark by 42.7% during the 2nd quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC now owns 23,373 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $152,000 after acquiring an additional 6,991 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.21% of the company’s stock.

Geopark Company Profile

Geopark Ltd. (NYSE:GPRK) is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company focused on Latin America. Founded in 2002 and with corporate offices in Canada and regional headquarters in Bogotá, Colombia, Geopark pursues the discovery and development of unconventional and conventional hydrocarbon resources. The company’s strategy emphasizes asset consolidation in established basins alongside disciplined capital allocation to maximize production efficiency.

The company’s core operations are centered in Colombia’s Llanos Basin, where it holds interests in several producing blocks that deliver light crude oil to local and export markets.