Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. Raises Holdings in Gulfport Energy Corporation $GPOR

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Gulfport Energy Corporation (NYSE:GPOR) by 21.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,556 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 272 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Gulfport Energy were worth $313,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of GPOR. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. raised its stake in Gulfport Energy by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. now owns 163,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,823,000 after purchasing an additional 7,000 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gulfport Energy during the second quarter worth about $557,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Gulfport Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,367,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Gulfport Energy by 36.6% during the second quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 86,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,317,000 after buying an additional 23,050 shares during the period. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Gulfport Energy by 71.5% during the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 3,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $621,000 after buying an additional 1,286 shares during the period.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David D. Wolf sold 1,525 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.27, for a total value of $320,661.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $938,224.74. This represents a 25.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy J. Cutt sold 2,635 shares of Gulfport Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.45, for a total transaction of $554,535.75. Following the transaction, the director owned 35,473 shares in the company, valued at $7,465,292.85. The trade was a 6.91% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 4,760 shares of company stock worth $978,140 over the last ninety days. 0.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Gulfport Energy Price Performance

Gulfport Energy stock opened at $222.49 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $4.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -30.99 and a beta of 0.62. Gulfport Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $153.27 and a 12 month high of $224.10. 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 has a 50-day moving average price of $192.39.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GPOR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Gulfport Energy in a research note on Monday, August 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Roth Capital assumed coverage on Gulfport Energy in a report on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho dropped their target price on Gulfport Energy from $227.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Gulfport Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Gulfport Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.25.

About Gulfport Energy

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.