Geopark Ltd (NYSE:GPRK) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest nearly doubled: Geopark’s short interest rose 95% to 2.33 million shares as of September 30, representing 4.6% of shares outstanding and 2.6 days to cover.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Geopark has an average “Hold” rating and a $12.00 average price target, despite Jefferies reiterating a “Buy” rating. The stock recently traded at $11.57.
• Financial and ownership developments were mixed: The company beat quarterly EPS estimates ($0.22 versus $0.12) but missed revenue expectations, while a director sold 100,000 shares. Institutional investors own 68.21% of the stock, and Geopark pays an annualized dividend of $0.09 per share.

Geopark Ltd (NYSE:GPRK - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 2,334,819 shares, an increase of 95.0% from the September 15th total of 1,197,354 shares. Currently, 4.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 890,214 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Geopark from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $12.00 target price on shares of Geopark in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Geopark in a research note on Friday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Geopark has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $12.00.

Geopark Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GPRK traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $11.57. The company had a trading volume of 618,025 shares, compared to its average volume of 790,634. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $10.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.05. The stock has a market cap of $598.54 million, a PE ratio of 7.87 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Geopark has a 1-year low of $5.75 and a 1-year high of $13.13.

Geopark (NYSE:GPRK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.10. Geopark had a return on equity of 31.33% and a net margin of 16.00%. The business had revenue of $143.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $185.50 million.

Geopark Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were paid a dividend of $0.0230 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $0.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Geopark's dividend payout ratio is currently 6.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Geopark news, Director James Park sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.92, for a total value of $1,192,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 692,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,250,046.56. The trade was a 12.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Geopark by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,309,031 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $31,436,000 after acquiring an additional 578,178 shares in the last quarter. Aventail Capital Group LP acquired a new position in Geopark in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,164,000. Flax Pond Capital LLC acquired a new position in Geopark in the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,352,000. Sycale Advisors NY LLC purchased a new position in Geopark during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,222,000. Finally, Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV purchased a new position in Geopark during the 1st quarter worth approximately $686,000. 68.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Geopark Company Profile

GeoPark Limited is an independent Latin American oil and natural gas exploration and production company. Its activities include identifying hydrocarbon resources, acquiring and developing exploration and production assets, drilling wells, and producing and selling crude oil and natural gas.

Founded in 2002, GeoPark has built a portfolio of operated and non-operated assets in several South American markets. The company has been particularly associated with oil and gas operations in Colombia's Llanos Basin and Brazil's onshore basins, while its broader history includes exploration and production activities in other Latin American countries.

GeoPark's operations generally encompass the full upstream process, including geological and seismic evaluation, field development, well drilling, production management, and the operation of related infrastructure.

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