Zacks Research Upgrades Gulfport Energy (NYSE:GPOR) to Hold

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Gulfport Energy to “hold” from “strong sell.” The broader analyst consensus is also “hold,” with a consensus price target of $216.60.
• Gulfport reported quarterly EPS of $4.85, exceeding expectations of $3.82, on revenue of $323.23 million. Analysts expect full-year EPS of approximately $22.25.
• GPOR opened at $175.76, with a market capitalization of about $3.11 billion and a 52-week trading range of $149.18 to $225.78. CEO Domenic Dell’Osso recently purchased 1,600 shares, while the chief accounting officer sold 325 shares.

Gulfport Energy (NYSE:GPOR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Gulfport Energy from $223.00 to $214.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an "underweight" rating and set a $194.00 price target (down from $240.00) on shares of Gulfport Energy in a research report on Tuesday. Mizuho upgraded shares of Gulfport Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $251.00 to $252.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Gulfport Energy from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Gulfport Energy from $190.00 to $186.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $216.60.

Gulfport Energy Price Performance

GPOR opened at $175.76 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $165.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $179.88. Gulfport Energy has a twelve month low of $149.18 and a twelve month high of $225.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market capitalization of $3.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.03 and a beta of 0.43.

Gulfport Energy (NYSE:GPOR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported $4.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.82 by $1.03. Gulfport Energy had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 32.28%.The business had revenue of $323.23 million during the quarter. Equities analysts expect that Gulfport Energy will post 22.25 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Domenic J. Dell'osso, Jr. acquired 1,600 shares of Gulfport Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $160.61 per share, with a total value of $256,976.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 24,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,910,692.89. This represents a 7.03% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Matthew Willrath sold 325 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.69, for a total value of $59,374.25. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2,130 shares of the company's stock, valued at $389,129.70. The trade was a 13.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Gulfport Energy by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 7,552 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,391,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in Gulfport Energy by 14.8% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 95,749 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,631,000 after acquiring an additional 12,327 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Gulfport Energy by 11.6% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,178,000 after acquiring an additional 665 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in Gulfport Energy by 16.7% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 1,532 shares of the company's stock worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Gulfport Energy in the second quarter worth about $400,000.

About Gulfport Energy

Gulfport Energy Corporation is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The company focuses on the development of onshore natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs) and crude oil properties in the United States. Gulfport utilizes horizontal drilling and multi-stage hydraulic fracturing techniques to maximize production and enhance recovery from its resource plays.

The company's primary operations are concentrated in two major U.S. resource basins.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.