GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

GeoPark Limited (NYSE:GPRK) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday . Approximately 907,366 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 79% from the previous session’s volume of 505,832 shares.The stock last traded at $10.50 and had previously closed at $11.40.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded GeoPark from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of GeoPark from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th.

GeoPark Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $550.28 million, a P/E ratio of 5.46 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. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.18.

GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by ($0.11). GeoPark had a return on equity of 57.93% and a net margin of 14.97%. The business had revenue of $159.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $156.99 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that GeoPark Limited will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GeoPark Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a dividend of $0.147 per share. This represents a $0.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. GeoPark’s payout ratio is 29.95%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GeoPark

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Employees Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in GeoPark during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new position in shares of GeoPark during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in GeoPark during the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Barclays PLC grew its position in GeoPark by 392.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 8,974 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 7,151 shares during the period. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in GeoPark during the 3rd quarter valued at $148,000. Institutional investors 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.