Empirical Finance LLC Invests $977,000 in Geopark Ltd (NYSE:GPRK)

Key Points

• Empirical Finance LLC purchased a new stake in Geopark Ltd, acquiring 120,923 shares valued at approximately $977,000, representing 0.24% ownership of the company.
• Geopark reported a quarterly earnings miss with earnings of $0.34 per share, falling short of analysts' expectations of $0.46, even as the company's revenue reached $137.30 million.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.147 per share, yielding 8.74% annually, with a payout ratio of 39.07%.

Empirical Finance LLC acquired a new position in Geopark Ltd (NYSE:GPRK - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 120,923 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $977,000. Empirical Finance LLC owned 0.24% of Geopark as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in Geopark by 23.9% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 30,296 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 5,844 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Geopark by 50.7% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 15,370 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $142,000 after buying an additional 5,171 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Geopark by 55.1% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 339,337 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,146,000 after purchasing an additional 120,518 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Geopark by 43.2% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 223,867 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,075,000 after purchasing an additional 67,573 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Geopark by 41.1% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 47,157 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $437,000 after purchasing an additional 13,735 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.21% of the company's stock.

Geopark Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of GPRK stock traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $6.45. 178,139 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 857,444. Geopark Ltd has a 1 year low of $5.66 and a 1 year high of $11.72. The stock has a market cap of $330.54 million, a PE ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.03. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $6.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.60.

Geopark (NYSE:GPRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The oil and gas company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.12). Geopark had a return on equity of 42.96% and a net margin of 12.56%. The business had revenue of $137.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $126.00 million. Research analysts predict that Geopark Ltd will post 1.97 EPS for the current year.

Geopark Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd were given a $0.147 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $0.59 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.12%. Geopark's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded Geopark from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, April 27th.

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.