Gulfport Energy (NYSE:GPOR) Upgraded to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Gulfport Energy (NYSE: GPOR) has been upgraded from a "hold" to a "buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, indicating increased investor confidence.
• The stock has seen positive evaluations from several analysts, with a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $231.00.
• Despite strong revenue of $447.62 million for the last quarter, Gulfport Energy reported earnings per share that missed expectations, highlighting the volatility in its performance.

Gulfport Energy (NYSE:GPOR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on GPOR. UBS Group set a $255.00 target price on Gulfport Energy and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Gulfport Energy from $208.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Bank of America increased their target price on Gulfport Energy from $217.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $215.00 target price (up from $205.00) on shares of Gulfport Energy in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Gulfport Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $231.00.

Gulfport Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPOR traded up $1.44 during trading on Friday, reaching $167.59. The company had a trading volume of 43,406 shares, compared to its average volume of 252,788. The company has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.34 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $184.63. Gulfport Energy has a fifty-two week low of $135.84 and a fifty-two week high of $210.32.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Matthew Willrath sold 633 shares of Gulfport Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.83, for a total transaction of $122,694.39. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $453,949.86. The trade was a 21.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jason Joseph Martinez sold 700 shares of Gulfport Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.69, for a total value of $135,583.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,888 shares in the company, valued at $946,756.72. This represents a 12.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Gulfport Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Toth Financial Advisory Corp acquired a new position in shares of Gulfport Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $85,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Gulfport Energy by 50.5% during the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 501 shares of the company's stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Gulfport Energy by 1,360.5% during the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 628 shares of the company's stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Gulfport Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $239,000. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gulfport Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $263,000.

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.