Wall Street Zen Downgrades Gulfport Energy (NYSE:GPOR) to Hold

Gulfport Energy (NYSE:GPOR) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Roth Capital began coverage on shares of Gulfport Energy in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Gulfport Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Gulfport Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Gulfport Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Gulfport Energy from $240.00 to $227.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.63.

Gulfport Energy Stock Performance

Shares of GPOR stock traded up $6.00 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $202.27. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 256,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 258,393. The company has a market cap of $3.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.17 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $180.81. Gulfport Energy has a 52 week low of $151.32 and a 52 week high of $210.32.

Gulfport Energy (NYSE:GPOR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $3.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.64 by ($1.51). The business had revenue of $379.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $343.18 million. Gulfport Energy had a positive return on equity of 18.89% and a negative net margin of 9.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gulfport Energy news, Director Jason Joseph Martinez sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.57, for a total value of $102,942.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $735,692.16. This trade represents a 12.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GPOR. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gulfport Energy by 49.3% in the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 565,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,700,000 after buying an additional 186,531 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Gulfport Energy by 84.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 347,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,956,000 after purchasing an additional 159,255 shares during the period. Mackay Shields LLC lifted its stake in Gulfport Energy by 756.6% in the third quarter. Mackay Shields LLC now owns 130,956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,700,000 after purchasing an additional 115,668 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in shares of Gulfport Energy by 328.6% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 131,926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,540,000 after buying an additional 101,146 shares during the period. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH purchased a new position in shares of Gulfport Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $18,266,000.

Gulfport Energy Company Profile

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.