GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) Sees Large Volume Increase – Time to Buy?

GeoPark Limited (NYSE:GPRK) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 694,578 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 69% from the previous session’s volume of 410,906 shares.The stock last traded at $11.46 and had previously closed at $11.22.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPRK has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of GeoPark from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of GeoPark from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th.

GeoPark Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market cap of $556.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.49 and a beta of 1.37. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $8.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.22.

GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $159.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $156.99 million. GeoPark had a return on equity of 57.93% and a net margin of 14.97%. Research analysts expect that GeoPark Limited will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

GeoPark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.147 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.41%. GeoPark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.95%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GeoPark

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in GeoPark during the first quarter worth $28,000. Employees Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in GeoPark during the second quarter worth $34,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in GeoPark during the second quarter worth $35,000. Armstrong Fleming & Moore Inc raised its stake in GeoPark by 2.7% during 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 buying an additional 4,859 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. bought a new position in GeoPark during the third quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors own 68.21% of the company’s stock.

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.