GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) Shares Up 9% – Still a Buy?

Shares of GeoPark Limited (NYSE:GPRK) rose 9% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $10.19 and last traded at $10.10. Approximately 341,095 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 20% from the average daily volume of 427,433 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.27.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GPRK. StockNews.com downgraded GeoPark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on GeoPark from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th.

GeoPark Stock Up 7.9 %

The firm has a market cap of $511.63 million, a PE ratio of 5.08 and a beta of 1.37. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $9.12 and its 200-day moving average is $9.16.

GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $159.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $156.99 million. GeoPark had a net margin of 14.97% and a return on equity of 57.93%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that GeoPark Limited will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GeoPark Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.88%. GeoPark’s payout ratio is 29.44%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Employees Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in GeoPark in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of GeoPark in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in shares of GeoPark during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of GeoPark during the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in GeoPark by 392.3% during 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. 68.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.