Zacks Research Downgrades Gulfport Energy (NYSE:GPOR) to Strong Sell

Key Points

• Zacks Research has downgraded Gulfport Energy's stock rating from "hold" to "strong sell," indicating a negative outlook for the company.
• Despite the downgrade, Gulfport has mixed analyst ratings, with one strong buy, five buys, and one sell, reflecting differing opinions on its future performance.
• The company reported $4.06 EPS for the last quarter, missing estimates by ($0.85) but showing a revenue of $447.62 million, exceeding expectations.

Zacks Research lowered shares of Gulfport Energy (NYSE:GPOR - Free Report) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note published on Tuesday, September 9th,Zacks.com reports.

GPOR has been the topic of several other research reports. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Gulfport Energy from $217.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Gulfport Energy from $208.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of Gulfport Energy from $215.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Gulfport Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Gulfport Energy in a research note on Monday, August 25th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $217.00.

Gulfport Energy Price Performance

Gulfport Energy stock traded up $0.52 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $172.75. The company had a trading volume of 139,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 251,013. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.06 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company's fifty day moving average is $172.93. Gulfport Energy has a fifty-two week low of $136.45 and a fifty-two week high of $210.32.

Gulfport Energy (NYSE:GPOR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $4.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.91 by ($0.85). Gulfport Energy had a positive return on equity of 18.89% and a negative net margin of 9.14%.The business had revenue of $447.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $334.57 million.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jason Joseph Martinez sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.57, for a total transaction of $102,942.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,288 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $735,692.16. This represents a 12.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Gulfport Energy

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gulfport Energy by 49.3% during the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 565,194 shares of the company's stock worth $113,700,000 after buying an additional 186,531 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Gulfport Energy by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 482,458 shares of the company's stock worth $97,056,000 after purchasing an additional 8,668 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its position in Gulfport Energy by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 400,803 shares of the company's stock worth $80,630,000 after purchasing an additional 36,953 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Gulfport Energy by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 332,557 shares of the company's stock worth $66,912,000 after purchasing an additional 31,682 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its position in Gulfport Energy by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 188,768 shares of the company's stock worth $37,974,000 after purchasing an additional 17,915 shares during the last quarter.

About Gulfport Energy

Gulfport Energy Corporation engages in the exploration, development, acquisition, production of natural gas, crude oil, and natural gas liquids (NGL) in the United States. Its principal properties include Utica Shale covering an area approximately 187,000 net reservoir acres primarily located in Eastern Ohio; and SCOOP covering an area approximately 74,000 net reservoir acres primarily located in Garvin, Grady, and Stephens.