Gulfport Energy (NYSE:GPOR) Trading Down 5% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Gulfport Energy shares fell 5% to approximately $167, trading below the 200-day moving average of $179.17. Trading volume was also 79% below the average session volume.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but leans toward “Hold”: the consensus target is $217.50, with ratings ranging from Strong Buy to Sell. JPMorgan recently lowered its target to $194, while Mizuho maintains an outperform rating with a $252 target.
• The company reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings of $4.85 per share, surpassing estimates of $3.82, on revenue of $323.23 million. Institutional investors generally increased their positions, while one company executive sold shares and CEO Domenic Dell’Osso purchased 1,600 shares.

Gulfport Energy Corporation (NYSE:GPOR - Get Free Report) shares fell 5% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $166.76 and last traded at $167.0770. 71,507 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 343,661 shares. The stock had previously closed at $175.95.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GPOR. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Gulfport Energy from $190.00 to $186.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on Gulfport Energy in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $193.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho upgraded Gulfport Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $251.00 to $252.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an "underweight" rating and set a $194.00 price objective (down from $240.00) on shares of Gulfport Energy in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Gulfport Energy from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $217.50.

Gulfport Energy Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $166.39 and a 200-day moving average of $179.17. The company has a market cap of $2.97 billion, a PE ratio of 6.69 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Gulfport Energy (NYSE:GPOR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported $4.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.82 by $1.03. The business had revenue of $323.23 million during the quarter. Gulfport Energy had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 32.28%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Gulfport Energy Corporation will post 22.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Gulfport Energy

In other Gulfport Energy news, CAO Matthew Willrath sold 325 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,130 shares in the company, valued at $389,129.70. This trade represents a 13.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Domenic J. Dell'osso, Jr. acquired 1,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $160.61 per share, for a total transaction of $256,976.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 24,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,910,692.89. This represents a 7.03% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Gulfport Energy by 5.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 630,099 shares of the company's stock worth $133,317,000 after purchasing an additional 34,486 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Gulfport Energy by 4,946.1% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 467,419 shares of the company's stock valued at $98,892,000 after buying an additional 458,156 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Gulfport Energy by 12.9% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 398,931 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,402,000 after buying an additional 45,682 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gulfport Energy by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 367,429 shares of the company's stock valued at $76,439,000 after buying an additional 3,853 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gemsstock Ltd. grew its position in shares of Gulfport Energy by 79.3% in the 4th quarter. Gemsstock Ltd. now owns 337,349 shares of the company's stock worth $70,165,000 after buying an additional 149,175 shares during the period.

About Gulfport Energy

Gulfport Energy Corporation is an independent exploration and production company focused primarily on natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company develops and produces hydrocarbons from unconventional shale formations, with operations concentrated in the Appalachian Basin.

Gulfport's principal assets are located in eastern Ohio, where it holds acreage in the Utica and Marcellus shale plays. Its activities include leasing and developing mineral properties, drilling and completing horizontal wells, and producing and marketing natural gas, natural gas liquids and crude oil.

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