Short Interest in GeoPark Limited (NYSE:GPRK) Expands By 33.5%

GeoPark Limited (NYSE:GPRK) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,010,000 shares, a growth of 33.5% from the December 15th total of 756,700 shares. Approximately 2.7% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 520,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days.

GeoPark Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of GPRK stock opened at $10.48 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $535.90 million, a P/E ratio of 5.32 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53. The business’s 50 day moving average is $9.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.18. GeoPark has a twelve month low of $7.24 and a twelve month high of $11.72.

GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) last posted 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). The firm had revenue of $159.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $156.99 million. GeoPark had a net margin of 14.97% and a return on equity of 57.93%. Equities analysts forecast that GeoPark will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

GeoPark Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were given a $0.147 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.61%. GeoPark’s payout ratio is currently 29.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on GPRK shares. StockNews.com cut shares of GeoPark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of GeoPark from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GeoPark

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in shares of GeoPark in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Armstrong Fleming & Moore Inc raised its position in GeoPark by 2.7% in the third quarter. Armstrong Fleming & Moore Inc now owns 187,726 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,477,000 after acquiring an additional 4,859 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new stake in GeoPark in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of GeoPark during the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.21% of the company’s stock.

GeoPark Company Profile

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.