Geopark (NYSE:GPRK) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Geopark Ltd (NYSE:GPRK) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $9.83, but opened at $10.26. Geopark shares last traded at $10.9490, with a volume of 426,812 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Geopark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Geopark in a research report on Friday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.50.

Geopark Trading Up 2.0%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $580.19 million, a PE ratio of 7.63 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.52.

Geopark (NYSE:GPRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.10. Geopark had a return on equity of 31.33% and a net margin of 16.00%.The firm had revenue of $143.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $185.50 million.

Geopark Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be given a $0.023 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $0.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Geopark’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.12%.

Insider Activity at Geopark

In other news, Director James Franklin Park sold 120,000 shares of Geopark stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.65, for a total transaction of $1,158,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 792,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,643,938.70. The trade was a 13.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Geopark

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPRK. VR Advisory Services Ltd lifted its holdings in Geopark by 370.9% during the fourth quarter. VR Advisory Services Ltd now owns 1,105,201 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $8,190,000 after purchasing an additional 870,516 shares in the last quarter. Vennlight Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Geopark in the fourth quarter worth $5,854,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Geopark by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,309,031 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $31,436,000 after purchasing an additional 578,178 shares during the period. UBS Group AG raised its position in shares of Geopark by 81.5% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 981,131 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,250,000 after purchasing an additional 440,706 shares during the period. Finally, Aventail Capital Group LP purchased a new position in shares of Geopark during the 4th quarter valued at $3,164,000. Institutional investors own 68.21% of the company’s stock.

About Geopark

Geopark Ltd. (NYSE:GPRK) is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company focused on Latin America. Founded in 2002 and with corporate offices in Canada and regional headquarters in Bogotá, Colombia, Geopark pursues the discovery and development of unconventional and conventional hydrocarbon resources. The company’s strategy emphasizes asset consolidation in established basins alongside disciplined capital allocation to maximize production efficiency.

The company’s core operations are centered in Colombia’s Llanos Basin, where it holds interests in several producing blocks that deliver light crude oil to local and export markets.