GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) Lowered to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning.

Separately, Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $14.00 target price on shares of GeoPark in a research report on Friday, April 12th.

GeoPark Trading Up 2.0 %

GeoPark stock opened at $9.10 on Monday. GeoPark has a one year low of $8.05 and a one year high of $11.25. The business’s fifty day moving average is $10.31 and its 200 day moving average is $9.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $503.21 million, a PE ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.47, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 15th. The oil and gas company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by ($0.05). GeoPark had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 67.81%. The company had revenue of $167.42 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $192.63 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that GeoPark will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

GeoPark Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st were issued a $0.147 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $0.59 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.47%. This is an increase from GeoPark’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. GeoPark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.43%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GeoPark

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in GeoPark by 19.3% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 153,539 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,316,000 after buying an additional 24,877 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its holdings in GeoPark by 59.1% in the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 27,260 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $234,000 after acquiring an additional 10,125 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new stake in GeoPark in the 4th quarter worth $689,000. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its stake in GeoPark by 480.0% in the 4th quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 5,800 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 4,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of GeoPark by 146.7% during the 4th quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 27,798 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $238,000 after purchasing an additional 16,532 shares during the last quarter. 68.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

GeoPark Company Profile

GeoPark Limited engages in the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas reserves in Chile, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, and Ecuador. GeoPark Limited has a strategic partnership with ONGC Videsh to jointly acquire, invest in, and create value from upstream oil and gas projects across Latin America.