GeoPark Limited (NYSE:GPRK) Short Interest Up 81.7% in June

GeoPark Limited (NYSE:GPRK) was the target of a large increase in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 767,700 shares, an increase of 81.7% from the May 31st total of 422,500 shares. Approximately 2.1% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 502,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.5 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on GPRK shares. StockNews.com raised GeoPark from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $14.00 target price on shares of GeoPark in a report on Friday, April 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, GeoPark presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.17.

GeoPark Stock Performance

Shares of GPRK stock traded down $0.08 on Friday, reaching $10.95. The stock had a trading volume of 381,951 shares, compared to its average volume of 450,601. The stock has a market cap of $605.84 million, a P/E ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 1.37. GeoPark has a 1 year low of $8.05 and a 1 year high of $11.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.20. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.39.

GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 15th. The oil and gas company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $167.42 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $192.63 million. GeoPark had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 67.81%. Equities research analysts expect that GeoPark will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

GeoPark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st were given a $0.147 dividend. This represents a $0.59 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.37%. This is an increase from GeoPark’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. GeoPark’s payout ratio is presently 28.43%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GeoPark

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Carmignac Gestion increased its holdings in shares of GeoPark by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Carmignac Gestion now owns 1,118,884 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $9,589,000 after purchasing an additional 120,000 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of GeoPark by 19.3% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 153,539 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,316,000 after purchasing an additional 24,877 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its holdings in shares of GeoPark by 67.8% in the first quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 148,060 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,421,000 after purchasing an additional 59,834 shares during the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC increased its holdings in shares of GeoPark by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 116,514 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $999,000 after purchasing an additional 18,167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP increased its holdings in shares of GeoPark by 107.3% in the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 85,809 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $735,000 after purchasing an additional 44,407 shares during the last quarter. 68.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About GeoPark

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.