Geopark Ltd (NYSE:GPRK) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Geopark Ltd (NYSE:GPRK) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 803,366 shares, a decrease of 15.1% from the March 15th total of 946,530 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,434,623 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.6 days. Approximately 1.6% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Geopark

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp grew its position in Geopark by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,987 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $200,000 after purchasing an additional 1,216 shares during the period. Fox Run Management L.L.C. grew its position in Geopark by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 52,100 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $386,000 after purchasing an additional 2,279 shares during the period. Glenorchy Capital Ltd grew its position in Geopark by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Glenorchy Capital Ltd now owns 181,274 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 2,562 shares during the period. State of Wyoming grew its position in Geopark by 39.2% during the 3rd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 9,727 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 2,740 shares during the period. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC grew its position in Geopark by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC now owns 27,028 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $176,000 after purchasing an additional 2,793 shares during the period. 68.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Geopark Stock Performance

Shares of GPRK stock traded down $0.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $8.84. The stock had a trading volume of 1,235,350 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,169,638. The business’s fifty day moving average is $8.89 and its 200-day moving average is $7.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The firm has a market cap of $456.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.40 and a beta of 0.35. Geopark has a 1-year low of $5.75 and a 1-year high of $10.34.

Geopark (NYSE:GPRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The oil and gas company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.60. Geopark had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 39.05%. The business had revenue of $110.29 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $103.92 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Geopark will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Geopark Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 11th. Geopark’s payout ratio is presently 12.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GPRK has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $11.50 price objective on shares of Geopark in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Geopark to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Geopark from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $11.50.

About Geopark

Geopark Ltd. (NYSE:GPRK) is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company focused on Latin America. Founded in 2002 and with corporate offices in Canada and regional headquarters in Bogotá, Colombia, Geopark pursues the discovery and development of unconventional and conventional hydrocarbon resources. The company’s strategy emphasizes asset consolidation in established basins alongside disciplined capital allocation to maximize production efficiency.

The company’s core operations are centered in Colombia’s Llanos Basin, where it holds interests in several producing blocks that deliver light crude oil to local and export markets.