Gulfport Energy Corporation $GPOR Shares Sold by William Blair Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• William Blair Investment Management cut its Gulfport Energy stake by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, while several other hedge funds, including Millennium Management and Goldentree, significantly increased or initiated positions in the stock.
• Insiders sold heavily: CFO Michael L. Hodges and Director Silver Point Capital L.P. both reduced their holdings, and insiders sold a total of 876,258 shares worth about $179.1 million over the last 90 days.
• Gulfport Energy reported mixed quarterly results, missing EPS estimates by $0.01 but topping revenue expectations; analysts still have a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $230.11.

William Blair Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Gulfport Energy Corporation (NYSE:GPOR - Free Report) by 9.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 192,340 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,805 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned approximately 1.00% of Gulfport Energy worth $40,005,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GPOR. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gulfport Energy by 1,281.6% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 426,034 shares of the company's stock worth $77,104,000 after buying an additional 395,197 shares during the period. Goldentree Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Gulfport Energy during the third quarter worth about $44,665,000. Whitebox Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gulfport Energy by 148.6% during the third quarter. Whitebox Advisors LLC now owns 274,627 shares of the company's stock worth $49,702,000 after buying an additional 164,178 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Gulfport Energy by 84.4% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 347,862 shares of the company's stock worth $62,956,000 after buying an additional 159,255 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Gulfport Energy by 93.9% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 313,884 shares of the company's stock worth $56,807,000 after buying an additional 152,005 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Gulfport Energy news, CFO Michael L. Hodges sold 16,769 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.70, for a total value of $3,533,228.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,892,261.10. This trade represents a 47.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Silver Point Capital L.P. sold 759,740 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.22, for a total transaction of $155,154,102.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,690,145 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $549,381,411.90. This trade represents a 22.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 876,258 shares of company stock valued at $179,141,707 in the last 90 days. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Gulfport Energy Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE GPOR opened at $178.26 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 0.46. Gulfport Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $160.95 and a 52-week high of $225.78. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $195.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $199.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Gulfport Energy (NYSE:GPOR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.61 by ($0.01). Gulfport Energy had a net margin of 35.72% and a return on equity of 23.51%. The company had revenue of $398.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $373.24 million. Equities research analysts expect that Gulfport Energy Corporation will post 24.82 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GPOR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Gulfport Energy from $228.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Gulfport Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Gulfport Energy from $248.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. TD Cowen raised shares of Gulfport Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Gulfport Energy from $215.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Gulfport Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $230.11.

Gulfport Energy Company Profile

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.

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