GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) Trading Down 3.7% - Should You Sell?

GeoPark Limited (NYSE:GPRK - Get Free Report) was down 3.7% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $10.60 and last traded at $10.70. Approximately 112,117 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 417,270 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.11.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GPRK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on GeoPark from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of GeoPark from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd.

GeoPark Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $8.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.22. The stock has a market cap of $555.09 million, a P/E ratio of 5.51 and a beta of 1.37.

GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The oil and gas company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.11). GeoPark had a net margin of 14.97% and a return on equity of 57.93%. The business had revenue of $159.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $156.99 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that GeoPark Limited will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

GeoPark Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a $0.147 dividend. This represents a $0.59 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. GeoPark's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.95%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GeoPark

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of GeoPark by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,246,617 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $35,550,000 after buying an additional 61,454 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of GeoPark by 3,251.7% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 379,483 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $4,139,000 after acquiring an additional 368,161 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in GeoPark by 77.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 366,380 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,883,000 after acquiring an additional 159,861 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC bought a new position in GeoPark during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,834,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new position in GeoPark during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,929,000. 68.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

GeoPark Company Profile

GeoPark Limited operates as an oil and natural gas exploration and production company primarily in Chile, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, and other Latin American countries. It engages in the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas reserves. The company was formerly known as GeoPark Holdings Limited and changed its name to GeoPark Limited in July 2013.