Gulfport Energy (NYSE:GPOR) Shares Up 6.9% – Still a Buy?

Gulfport Energy Corporation (NYSE:GPOR) was up 6.9% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $209.85 and last traded at $210.91. Approximately 48,400 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 332,772 shares. The stock had previously closed at $197.38.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPOR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Gulfport Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Gulfport Energy from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Gulfport Energy from $228.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group raised their price target on Gulfport Energy from $264.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Gulfport Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gulfport Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.67.

Gulfport Energy Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $196.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $194.65. The company has a market cap of $3.85 billion, a PE ratio of 10.14 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68.

Gulfport Energy (NYSE:GPOR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $5.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.61 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $398.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $373.24 million. Gulfport Energy had a net margin of 30.01% and a return on equity of 21.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Michael Sluiter sold 9,933 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.00, for a total transaction of $2,085,930.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,980 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,515,800. The trade was a 45.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy J. Cutt sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.73, for a total transaction of $1,043,650.00. Following the sale, the director owned 26,255 shares in the company, valued at $5,480,206.15. The trade was a 16.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 893,835 shares of company stock worth $182,476,994. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gulfport Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in Gulfport Energy by 866.7% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 406 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Gulfport Energy by 36.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 69,459 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,447,000 after acquiring an additional 18,733 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in Gulfport Energy by 102.5% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 2,845 shares of the company’s stock worth $592,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares during the last quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury purchased a new stake in Gulfport Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $327,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Gulfport Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $215,000.

Gulfport Energy Company Profile

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.