Gulfport Energy Operating Corp

Gulfport Energy President and CEO Domenic J. Dell'Osso Jr. purchased 1,600 shares of the company's common stock on August 7, 2026, according to a recent SEC Form 4 filing. The transaction was valued at approximately $257,000, based on a weighted average purchase price of $160.61 per share, slightly below the $162.76 market close that day. The purchase expands Dell'Osso's direct equity holdings by 7% to 24,349 shares, worth about $3.96 million at the closing price. Gulfport Energy, an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company based in Oklahoma City, reported trailing-twelve-month revenue of $1.5 billion and net income of $496.7 million as of August 2026.

StockStory has identified three profitable companies with strong operating margins that balance profitability with reinvestment for long-term growth. Woodward, with a trailing 12-month GAAP operating margin of 14.8%, has achieved 13% annual revenue growth over five years and 19.9% annual EPS growth over two years, trading at 39.7x forward P/E. Kratos, at a 1.7% margin, posted 14.6% organic revenue growth over two years and 15.8% annual EPS growth, with a 29.9% sales growth outlook, trading at 58.2x forward P/E. Gulfport Energy, boasting a 49.1% margin and 69.6% gross margin, saw 9.2% annual revenue growth over ten years and trades at 6.2x forward P/E.

Gulfport Energy has acquired approximately 4,700 net undeveloped acres in the core of the Ohio Utica in Belmont County through a state land lease sale for a total purchase price of about $83 million. The large, contiguous acreage is adjacent to existing operations and recently acquired discretionary acreage, located in the liquids-rich Utica wet gas window. The acquisition adds roughly 16 net locations normalized to 15,000-foot laterals, with development expected to commence in 2027 and forecasted returns at the top end of the company's portfolio. The purchase price equates to approximately $17,500 per net acre or $5.1 million per net location. Gulfport funded the acquisition through cash on hand and available capacity under its revolving credit facility.

S&P Dow Jones Indices will add Gulfport Energy and Mobility Global to the S&P SmallCap 600. Gulfport Energy will replace Select Medical Holdings effective prior to the open of trading on Wednesday, July 1, as Select Medical Holdings is being acquired. Mobility Global will replace Core Laboratories effective prior to the open of trading on Thursday, July 2, following its spin-off from S&P 500 constituent S&P Global. Core Laboratories is being removed because it no longer represents the small-cap market space.

Gulfport Energy emerges as the preferred pick over Viper Energy for 2026, driven by stronger profitability and a lower valuation. Gulfport, an active exploration and production company focused on the Appalachia and Anadarko basins, reported fiscal 2025 revenue of approximately $1.3 billion, net income of nearly $427.8 million, and free cash flow of nearly $275.6 million. In contrast, royalty-focused Viper Energy, which relies on operators like Diamondback Energy in the Permian Basin, posted higher revenue of nearly $1.4 billion but a net loss of approximately $69 million and negative free cash flow of around $1.3 billion. Gulfport trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 7.1 times, well below Viper’s 21.3 times and the sector benchmark of 20.8 times, making it the more value-oriented choice. While neither company pays a dividend, Gulfport’s profitable operations and expected 20% earnings-per-share growth to around $26 in 2026 give it the edge.