Traders Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS)

Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock investors bought 4,083 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 55% compared to the average daily volume of 2,642 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $2.00 price objective (down from $3.00) on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Johnson Rice lowered shares of Kosmos Energy from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $4.50 to $3.50 in a report on Friday, December 5th. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $1.00 price objective (down previously from $3.40) on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Clarkson Capital initiated coverage on shares of Kosmos Energy in a report on Friday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $4.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stephens started coverage on Kosmos Energy in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $1.75 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kosmos Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $2.29.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kosmos Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vident Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kosmos Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Foster Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Kosmos Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Kosmos Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Verum Partners LLC acquired a new position in Kosmos Energy in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft bought a new position in shares of Kosmos Energy in the second quarter valued at $30,000. 95.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kosmos Energy Stock Performance

NYSE KOS traded down $0.04 on Friday, hitting $0.87. The stock had a trading volume of 8,304,652 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,707,202. The company’s 50-day moving average is $1.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1.66. Kosmos Energy has a one year low of $0.84 and a one year high of $4.01. The stock has a market cap of $413.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.27 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04.

Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by ($0.02). Kosmos Energy had a negative return on equity of 26.28% and a negative net margin of 23.64%.The business had revenue of $310.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $360.82 million. On average, analysts expect that Kosmos Energy will post 0.42 earnings per share for the current year.

About Kosmos Energy

Kosmos Energy Ltd. is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Since its founding in 2003, the company has focused on identifying and developing hydrocarbon reserves in frontier and emerging basins around the world. Kosmos combines geological and geophysical expertise with a disciplined approach to acreage acquisition and partner selection to pursue high‐impact offshore exploration opportunities.

The company’s portfolio is anchored by assets in West Africa and the Gulf of Mexico.