Lester Zitkus Sells 4,745 Shares of Gulfport Energy (NYSE:GPOR) Stock

Gulfport Energy Corporation (NYSE:GPOR) SVP Lester Zitkus sold 4,745 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.69, for a total value of $881,099.05. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 7,821 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,452,281.49. This trade represents a 37.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Gulfport Energy Stock Performance

GPOR opened at $174.36 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $205.79 and a 200-day moving average of $187.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.54. Gulfport Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $153.27 and a 52-week high of $225.78. The company has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a PE ratio of -91.77 and a beta of 0.61.

Gulfport Energy (NYSE:GPOR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $3.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.64 by ($1.51). Gulfport Energy had a return on equity of 20.95% and a net margin of 1.68%.The company had revenue of $379.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $343.18 million.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Gulfport Energy in a report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group increased their target price on Gulfport Energy from $227.00 to $264.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Wolfe Research downgraded Gulfport Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Tudor Pickering cut Gulfport Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Gulfport Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $230.88.

Institutional Trading of Gulfport Energy

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Gulfport Energy by 1,281.6% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 426,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,104,000 after purchasing an additional 395,197 shares during the period. Goldentree Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Gulfport Energy during the third quarter worth $44,665,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Gulfport Energy by 49.3% in the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 565,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $113,700,000 after buying an additional 186,531 shares during the period. Whitebox Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Gulfport Energy by 148.6% in the 3rd quarter. Whitebox Advisors LLC now owns 274,627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,702,000 after buying an additional 164,178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Gulfport Energy by 84.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 347,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,956,000 after acquiring an additional 159,255 shares during the period.

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.