GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy”

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

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of GeoPark from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th.

GeoPark Stock Performance

NYSE GPRK opened at $10.48 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $535.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.32 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53. GeoPark has a twelve month low of $7.24 and a twelve month high of $11.72. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.18.

GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.11). GeoPark had a net margin of 14.97% and a return on equity of 57.93%. The company had revenue of $159.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $156.99 million. Sell-side analysts expect that GeoPark will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

GeoPark Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.61%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. GeoPark’s dividend payout ratio is 29.95%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GeoPark

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in GeoPark in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Blue Trust Inc. bought a new stake in GeoPark in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in GeoPark in the third quarter valued at $44,000. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of GeoPark by 392.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 8,974 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 7,151 shares during the period. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of GeoPark in the 3rd quarter valued at about $148,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.