Geopark (NYSE:GPRK) Stock Price Crosses Above 50-Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Geopark Ltd's stock price has crossed above its 50-day moving average of $6.45, reaching a high of $6.49 during trading.
• Analysts have upgraded Geopark's rating to a "hold" and assigned a new average target price of $11.00.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.147 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 9.1%.

Geopark Ltd (NYSE:GPRK - Get Free Report) crossed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $6.45 and traded as high as $6.49. Geopark shares last traded at $6.49, with a volume of 839,054 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on GPRK shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Geopark from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Geopark in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Santander started coverage on shares of Geopark in a report on Friday, August 29th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Geopark presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $11.00.

Geopark Stock Up 2.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.92, a quick ratio of 2.42 and a current ratio of 2.47. The company has a market cap of $332.61 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.82 and a beta of 0.76. The stock's fifty day moving average is $6.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.75.

Geopark (NYSE:GPRK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.12. Geopark had a net margin of 7.70% and a return on equity of 35.65%. The company had revenue of $119.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $123.00 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Geopark Ltd will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Geopark Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were paid a $0.147 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $0.59 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.1%. Geopark's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.08%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Geopark

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPRK. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Geopark by 139.9% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 594,154 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $4,801,000 after buying an additional 346,521 shares during the last quarter. OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new stake in Geopark in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,489,000. Armstrong Fleming & Moore Inc purchased a new stake in Geopark in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,351,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Geopark by 94.2% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 365,825 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,956,000 after buying an additional 177,496 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Freestone Capital Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Geopark in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,042,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.21% of the company's stock.

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.

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