GeoPark Limited (NYSE:GPRK) Short Interest Update

GeoPark Limited (NYSE:GPRK) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,360,000 shares, an increase of 43.0% from the February 28th total of 1,650,000 shares. Currently, 6.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 778,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days.

GeoPark Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GPRK traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $7.95. The stock had a trading volume of 305,966 shares, compared to its average volume of 528,800. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.87. The company has a market capitalization of $406.80 million, a PE ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 1.37. GeoPark has a 1 year low of $7.24 and a 1 year high of $11.72.

GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 5th. The oil and gas company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.43). GeoPark had a net margin of 14.97% and a return on equity of 57.93%. The firm had revenue of $143.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $141.00 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that GeoPark will post 1.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GeoPark Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 19th will be given a dividend of $0.147 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 19th. This represents a $0.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.40%. GeoPark’s payout ratio is presently 32.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of GeoPark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th.

Institutional Trading of GeoPark

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of GeoPark by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,176,376 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $29,445,000 after purchasing an additional 156,067 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in GeoPark by 77.4% during 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 buying an additional 159,861 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new stake in GeoPark in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,834,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of GeoPark by 55.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 339,337 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,146,000 after acquiring an additional 120,518 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of GeoPark by 43.2% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 223,867 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,075,000 after acquiring an additional 67,573 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.21% of the company’s stock.

About GeoPark

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.