Gulfport Energy (NYSE:GPOR) Price Target Raised to $229.00

Key Points

• JPMorgan raised its price target on Gulfport Energy to $229 (from $228) and kept an overweight rating, implying roughly a 13.61% upsideModerate Buy with an average target of $226.67.
• Shares traded up about 2.5% to $201.56 midday; the company has a market cap of $3.74B, a P/E of 9.92, and last quarter reported EPS of $5.60 (missed by $0.01) while revenue of $398.19M beat estimates.
• Significant insider activity: insiders sold 893,835 shares worth roughly $182.48M in the past 90 days, leaving insiders with only 0.33% ownership.

Gulfport Energy (NYSE:GPOR - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $228.00 to $229.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s target price suggests a potential upside of 13.61% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen upgraded Gulfport Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Wolfe Research cut Gulfport Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings raised Gulfport Energy from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Gulfport Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Gulfport Energy from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $226.67.

Gulfport Energy Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NYSE:GPOR traded up $4.92 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $201.56. 242,128 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 339,715. The firm has a market cap of $3.74 billion, a PE ratio of 9.92 and a beta of 0.61. Gulfport Energy has a fifty-two week low of $153.27 and a fifty-two week high of $225.78. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $196.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $194.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

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). Gulfport Energy had a return on equity of 21.85% and a net margin of 30.01%.The firm had revenue of $398.19 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $373.24 million.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Gulfport Energy news, Director Timothy J. Cutt sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.73, for a total transaction of $1,043,650.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 26,255 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,480,206.15. The trade was a 16.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Lester Zitkus sold 4,745 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.69, for a total value of $881,099.05. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 7,821 shares in the company, valued at $1,452,281.49. This represents a 37.76% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 893,835 shares of company stock worth $182,476,994 in the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gulfport Energy

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPOR. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Gulfport Energy by 6.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,078,379 shares of the company's stock valued at $195,165,000 after purchasing an additional 68,664 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gulfport Energy by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 671,483 shares of the company's stock worth $139,662,000 after buying an additional 83,613 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Gulfport Energy by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 595,613 shares of the company's stock worth $123,892,000 after buying an additional 34,716 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Gulfport Energy by 50.3% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 527,393 shares of the company's stock worth $109,692,000 after buying an additional 176,386 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in Gulfport Energy by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 482,458 shares of the company's stock valued at $97,056,000 after buying an additional 8,668 shares during the last quarter.

About Gulfport Energy

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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