Geopark (NYSE:GPRK) Trading 9.2% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Geopark Ltd (NYSE:GPRK)’s stock price rose 9.2% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $11.10 and last traded at $11.1890. Approximately 259,010 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 882,247 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.25.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GPRK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Geopark from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $11.50 target price on shares of Geopark in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $11.50.

Geopark Stock Up 6.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $9.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.50. The stock has a market cap of $566.74 million, a P/E ratio of 10.45 and a beta of 0.36.

Geopark (NYSE:GPRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The oil and gas company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.13. Geopark had a net margin of 11.74% and a return on equity of 36.71%. The firm had revenue of $128.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $140.00 million.

Geopark Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.023 per share. This represents a $0.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 20th. Geopark’s payout ratio is currently 8.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Geopark news, Director James Franklin Park sold 100,000 shares of Geopark stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.83, for a total transaction of $883,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 912,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,054,001.94. The trade was a 9.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Institutional Trading of Geopark

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GPRK. VR Advisory Services Ltd grew its holdings in Geopark by 370.9% during the 4th quarter. VR Advisory Services Ltd now owns 1,105,201 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $8,190,000 after acquiring an additional 870,516 shares during the period. Vennlight Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Geopark during the 4th quarter worth $5,854,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in 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 worth $31,436,000 after acquiring an additional 578,178 shares during the period. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in Geopark by 81.5% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 981,131 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,250,000 after acquiring an additional 440,706 shares during the period. Finally, Aventail Capital Group LP acquired a new stake in Geopark during the 4th quarter worth $3,164,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.