GeoPark Limited (NYSE:GPRK) Short Interest Update

GeoPark Limited (NYSE:GPRK) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,360,000 shares, a growth of 43.0% from the February 28th total of 1,650,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 778,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days. Approximately 6.3% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GeoPark

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada purchased a new stake in shares of GeoPark during the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of GeoPark in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in GeoPark in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in GeoPark by 25.6% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,142 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in GeoPark by 392.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 8,974 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 7,151 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded GeoPark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th.

GeoPark Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE:GPRK traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $8.09. The stock had a trading volume of 1,213,587 shares, compared to its average volume of 531,528. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $8.62 and a 200 day moving average of $8.87. The company has a market capitalization of $413.91 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 1.37. GeoPark has a one year low of $7.24 and a one year high of $11.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53.

GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 5th. The oil and gas company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.43). The business had revenue of $143.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $141.00 million. GeoPark had a return on equity of 57.93% and a net margin of 14.97%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that GeoPark will post 1.97 EPS for the current year.

GeoPark Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 19th will be issued a $0.147 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 19th. This represents a $0.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.27%. GeoPark’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.22%.

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.