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

StockNews.com cut shares of GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

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

GeoPark Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:GPRK opened at $8.81 on Friday. 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 has a market cap of $450.75 million, a P/E ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 1.37. GeoPark has a 12 month low of $7.24 and a 12 month high of $11.72. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $9.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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. As a group, research analysts forecast that GeoPark will post 2.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GeoPark Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were given a $0.147 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.59 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.67%. GeoPark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.44%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GeoPark

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of GeoPark by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,246,617 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $35,550,000 after buying an additional 61,454 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in GeoPark by 3,251.7% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 379,483 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,139,000 after purchasing an additional 368,161 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in GeoPark by 77.4% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 366,380 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,883,000 after purchasing an additional 159,861 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC bought a new stake in GeoPark in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,834,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new stake in GeoPark in the second quarter worth $2,929,000. 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.