Vanguard Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Gulfport Energy Corporation $GPOR

Key Points

• Vanguard trimmed its Gulfport Energy stake by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 31,249 shares and ending with 1,047,130 shares valued at about $217.8 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains mixed but constructive: Gulfport has an average Moderate Buy rating, with an average price target of $230.11 after several firms updated their views and targets.
• Insider selling has been significant, including a large sale by Silver Point Capital L.P. director and additional shares sold by an SVP, while the stock recently traded at $178.53, below its recent average analyst targets.

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Gulfport Energy Corporation (NYSE:GPOR - Free Report) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,047,130 shares of the company's stock after selling 31,249 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 5.42% of Gulfport Energy worth $217,793,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Polymer Capital Management US LLC boosted its position in shares of Gulfport Energy by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC now owns 2,193 shares of the company's stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Gulfport Energy by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 17,836 shares of the company's stock worth $3,588,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in shares of Gulfport Energy by 133.7% during the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 222 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Gulfport Energy by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 1,272 shares of the company's stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gulfport Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen raised Gulfport Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Gulfport Energy from $230.00 to $219.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Gulfport Energy from $228.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Bank of America upped their target price on Gulfport Energy from $215.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Gulfport Energy from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Gulfport Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $230.11.

Insider Activity at Gulfport Energy

In other Gulfport Energy news, Director Silver Point Capital L.P. sold 759,740 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.22, for a total transaction of $155,154,102.80. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,690,145 shares of the company's stock, valued at $549,381,411.90. This represents a 22.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Michael Sluiter sold 9,933 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.00, for a total value of $2,085,930.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,980 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,515,800. This represents a 45.33% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 876,258 shares of company stock worth $179,141,707. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Gulfport Energy Price Performance

NYSE:GPOR opened at $178.53 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company's 50-day moving average is $200.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $199.94. Gulfport Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $160.95 and a 12-month high of $225.78.

Gulfport Energy (NYSE:GPOR - Get Free Report) last released 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). The firm had revenue of $398.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $373.24 million. Gulfport Energy had a net margin of 35.72% and a return on equity of 23.51%. Research analysts expect that Gulfport Energy Corporation will post 24.31 EPS for the current year.

Gulfport Energy 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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