GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) Lowered to Buy Rating by StockNews.com

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

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 Trading Down 1.8 %

GPRK stock opened at $10.92 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $558.44 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $8.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.25. GeoPark has a fifty-two week low of $7.24 and a fifty-two week high of $11.72.

GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $159.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $156.99 million. GeoPark had a return on equity of 57.93% and a net margin of 14.97%. Analysts expect that GeoPark will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GeoPark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were issued a $0.147 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.59 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.39%. GeoPark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.44%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GeoPark

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in GeoPark during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of GeoPark during the second quarter worth $35,000. Blue Trust Inc. bought a new position in shares of GeoPark during the third quarter worth $38,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of GeoPark in the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of GeoPark by 392.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 8,974 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 7,151 shares in the last quarter. 68.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

GeoPark Company Profile

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.