Gulfport Energy (NYSE:GPOR) Shares Break Below Fifty Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Gulfport Energy shares slipped below their 50-day moving average, trading around $163.41 versus the average of $163.48; the 200-day average is $177.63.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: the consensus rating is Hold, with a $208.38 average price target. Recent calls ranged from JPMorgan’s downgrade to Underweight to several Buy and Outperform ratings.
• Two company insiders reported selling shares, while several institutional investors—including Renaissance Technologies and Bank of America—reported increasing their holdings.

Gulfport Energy Corporation (NYSE:GPOR - Get Free Report)'s share price passed below its 50 day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $163.48 and traded as low as $162.49. Gulfport Energy shares last traded at $163.4050, with a volume of 392,769 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Pickering Energy Partners started coverage on Gulfport Energy in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Mizuho set a $237.00 target price on Gulfport Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Gulfport Energy from an "overweight" rating to an "underweight" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $240.00 to $194.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Gulfport Energy from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Gulfport Energy from $218.00 to $217.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Gulfport Energy currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $208.38.

Gulfport Energy Stock Performance

The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $163.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $177.63. The company has a market capitalization of $2.84 billion, a PE ratio of 6.28 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Insider Activity

In other Gulfport Energy news, CAO Matthew Willrath sold 325 shares of Gulfport Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.69, for a total value of $59,374.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2,130 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $389,129.70. The trade was a 13.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Timothy J. Cutt sold 2,500 shares of Gulfport Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.98, for a total value of $397,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 27,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,294,526.74. This represents a 8.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Gulfport Energy by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 630,099 shares of the company's stock valued at $133,317,000 after purchasing an additional 34,486 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Gulfport Energy by 12.9% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 398,931 shares of the company's stock worth $84,402,000 after buying an additional 45,682 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Gulfport Energy by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 223,669 shares of the company's stock worth $47,323,000 after buying an additional 9,095 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Gulfport Energy by 50.3% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 152,201 shares of the company's stock worth $32,201,000 after buying an additional 50,968 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Gulfport Energy by 582.6% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 137,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,027,000 after buying an additional 117,100 shares during the period.

Gulfport Energy Company Profile

Gulfport Energy Corporation is an independent exploration and production company focused on finding and developing oil and natural gas resources. Its operations are concentrated in the Utica Shale in Ohio and the SCOOP resource area in Oklahoma. The company produces natural gas, natural gas liquids and crude oil. Gulfport emerged from a Chapter 11 restructuring in 2021 and is headquartered in Oklahoma City.

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