Gulfport Energy Corporation $GPOR Stock: Azarias Capital Management L.P. Decreases Stake

Key Points

• Azarias Capital Management cut its Gulfport Energy stake by 48% in the third quarter, selling 22,307 shares and retaining 24,132 shares valued at approximately $3.6 million. Other major institutional investors, including Dimensional Fund Advisors and Bank of America, increased their positions.
• Gulfport Energy reported quarterly EPS of $4.85, beating analyst expectations of $3.82, on revenue of $323.23 million. Analysts expect full-year EPS of approximately $22.40.
• GPOR shares traded at $165.20, while analysts maintained a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $210.20; recent targets ranged from $180 to $218.

Azarias Capital Management L.P. lessened its stake in shares of Gulfport Energy Corporation (NYSE:GPOR - Free Report) by 48.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,132 shares of the company's stock after selling 22,307 shares during the quarter. Gulfport Energy comprises approximately 3.4% of Azarias Capital Management L.P.'s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Azarias Capital Management L.P. owned about 0.14% of Gulfport Energy worth $3,631,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Gulfport Energy by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 630,099 shares of the company's stock worth $133,317,000 after purchasing an additional 34,486 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Gulfport Energy by 4,946.1% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 467,419 shares of the company's stock valued at $98,892,000 after purchasing an additional 458,156 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Gulfport Energy by 12.9% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 398,931 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,402,000 after purchasing an additional 45,682 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Gulfport Energy by 4.2% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 223,669 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,323,000 after purchasing an additional 9,095 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Gulfport Energy by 50.3% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 152,201 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,201,000 after purchasing an additional 50,968 shares during the period.

Insider Transactions at Gulfport Energy

In related news, CAO Matthew Willrath sold 325 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.69, for a total transaction of $59,374.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,130 shares in the company, valued at $389,129.70. This represents a 13.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Domenic J. Dell'osso, Jr. purchased 1,600 shares of Gulfport Energy stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $160.61 per share, with a total value of $256,976.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 24,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,910,692.89. This trade represents a 7.03% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Gulfport Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:GPOR traded down $2.93 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $165.20. 172,904 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 339,387. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $167.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $172.88. Gulfport Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $149.18 and a 12 month high of $225.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.61 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Gulfport Energy (NYSE:GPOR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported $4.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.82 by $1.03. Gulfport Energy had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 32.28%. The firm had revenue of $323.23 million for the quarter. On average, equities analysts forecast that Gulfport Energy Corporation will post 22.40 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on GPOR shares. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Gulfport Energy from $190.00 to $186.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Gulfport Energy from $223.00 to $218.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of Gulfport Energy in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $193.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Gulfport Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $239.00 to $180.00 in a report on Friday, September 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Gulfport Energy from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $210.20.

Gulfport Energy Profile

Gulfport Energy Corporation NYSE: GPOR is an independent exploration and production company focused on developing and producing natural gas, natural gas liquids and oil. Its activities include acquiring, exploring, drilling and operating oil and gas properties.

The company's operations are concentrated in the Appalachian Basin, particularly the Utica and Marcellus shale plays in eastern Ohio. Gulfport sells the hydrocarbons produced from its wells into regional energy markets and relies on gathering and transportation infrastructure to move production to market.

Gulfport Energy traces its history to the late 1990s and has evolved from a broader domestic oil and gas producer into a company primarily focused on natural gas development in the eastern United States.

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