GeoPark Limited (NYSE:GPRK) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

GeoPark Limited (NYSE:GPRK) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 767,700 shares, an increase of 81.7% from the May 31st total of 422,500 shares. Currently, 2.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 502,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on GPRK shares. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 price objective on shares of GeoPark in a report on Friday, April 12th. StockNews.com raised GeoPark from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $13.17.

GeoPark Price Performance

NYSE:GPRK traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $10.95. 381,951 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 450,601. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.20. The company has a market cap of $605.84 million, a PE ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 1.37. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $10.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.39. GeoPark has a 1 year low of $8.05 and a 1 year high of $11.25.

GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 15th. The oil and gas company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by ($0.05). GeoPark had a return on equity of 67.81% and a net margin of 15.51%. The business had revenue of $167.42 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $192.63 million. Sell-side analysts expect that GeoPark will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

GeoPark Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st were issued a $0.147 dividend. This represents a $0.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.37%. This is a boost from GeoPark’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. GeoPark’s payout ratio is 28.43%.

Institutional Trading of GeoPark

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in GeoPark in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. NBC Securities Inc. grew its stake in GeoPark by 480.0% in the 4th quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 5,800 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 4,800 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP raised its holdings in GeoPark by 21.3% in the 3rd quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 41,402 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $426,000 after acquiring an additional 7,281 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of GeoPark by 59.1% during the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 27,260 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 10,125 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd lifted its stake in shares of GeoPark by 146.7% during the 4th quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 27,798 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 16,532 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.21% of the company’s stock.

GeoPark Company Profile

GeoPark Limited engages in the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas reserves in Chile, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, and Ecuador. GeoPark Limited has a strategic partnership with ONGC Videsh to jointly acquire, invest in, and create value from upstream oil and gas projects across Latin America.