Northern Trust Corp Purchases New Position in GeoPark Limited (NYSE:GPRK)

Northern Trust Corp purchased a new stake in GeoPark Limited (NYSE:GPRK) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 15,679 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $145,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada acquired a new position in GeoPark in the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in GeoPark by 25.6% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,142 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,252 shares during the period. Puff Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in GeoPark in the fourth quarter valued at $121,000. Fox Run Management L.L.C. increased its stake in GeoPark by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 13,855 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 2,009 shares during the period. Finally, Banco BTG Pactual S.A. increased its stake in GeoPark by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Banco BTG Pactual S.A. now owns 15,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $152,000 after purchasing an additional 2,143 shares during the period. 68.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

GeoPark Trading Up 8.2%

Shares of GeoPark stock opened at $7.15 on Wednesday. GeoPark Limited has a 52-week low of $5.66 and a 52-week high of $11.72. 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 company’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.39. The firm has a market cap of $366.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.76.

GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The oil and gas company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.12). GeoPark had a return on equity of 57.93% and a net margin of 14.97%. The firm had revenue of $137.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $126.00 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that GeoPark Limited will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current year.

GeoPark Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.147 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $0.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.22%. GeoPark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of GeoPark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 27th.

GeoPark 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.