Gulfport Energy (NYSE:GPOR) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Gulfport Energy (NYSE:GPOR) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Gulfport Energy from $219.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Roth Capital initiated coverage on shares of Gulfport Energy in a research note on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded Gulfport Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 22nd. Wolfe Research cut Gulfport Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on Gulfport Energy from $205.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Gulfport Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $230.88.

Gulfport Energy Stock Performance

NYSE GPOR opened at $174.36 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Gulfport Energy has a twelve month low of $153.27 and a twelve month high of $225.78. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $205.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $187.73. The firm has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -91.77 and a beta of 0.61.

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 the consensus estimate of $4.64 by ($1.51). Gulfport Energy had a net margin of 1.68% and a return on equity of 20.95%. The business had revenue of $379.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $343.18 million.

Insider Activity

In other Gulfport Energy news, Director Timothy J. Cutt sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.74, for a total transaction of $536,850.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 31,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,711,698.70. The trade was a 7.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director David D. Wolf sold 1,525 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 4,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $938,224.74. The trade was a 25.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 312,172 shares of company stock worth $67,975,930. 0.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Gulfport Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Gulfport Energy by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. now owns 163,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,823,000 after acquiring an additional 7,000 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Gulfport Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $557,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Gulfport Energy in the third quarter worth about $13,418,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Gulfport Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,367,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Gulfport Energy by 10.3% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 161,879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,565,000 after buying an additional 15,173 shares during the last quarter.

About Gulfport Energy

Gulfport Energy Corporation is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The company focuses on the development of onshore natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs) and crude oil properties in the United States. Gulfport utilizes horizontal drilling and multi-stage hydraulic fracturing techniques to maximize production and enhance recovery from its resource plays.

The company’s primary operations are concentrated in two major U.S. resource basins.