Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Johnson Rice upgraded shares of Kosmos Energy from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $4.25 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Kosmos Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $2.25 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on shares of Kosmos Energy from $1.70 to $0.80 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $2.22.

Kosmos Energy Trading Up 3.9%

KOS opened at $2.92 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $2.54 and its 200-day moving average is $1.72. Kosmos Energy has a 1-year low of $0.84 and a 1-year high of $3.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.53. The company has a market cap of $1.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.00, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.65.

Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.16) earnings per share for the quarter. Kosmos Energy had a negative net margin of 54.18% and a negative return on equity of 39.29%. The company had revenue of $294.62 million during the quarter. Equities research analysts predict that Kosmos Energy will post 0.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kosmos Energy

In other news, CFO Nealesh D. Shah purchased 157,894 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $1.90 per share, for a total transaction of $299,998.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 1,863,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,539,815.90. This trade represents a 9.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director J Michael Stice purchased 52,631 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $1.90 per share, for a total transaction of $99,998.90. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 207,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $394,478. This trade represents a 33.96% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders acquired 3,684,210 shares of company stock worth $6,999,999 and sold 272,844 shares worth $377,592. 2.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KOS. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in shares of Kosmos Energy by 93.9% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 28,601 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 13,854 shares during the period. Old Port Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Kosmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new position in shares of Kosmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its position in shares of Kosmos Energy by 35.7% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 42,577 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 11,209 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Kosmos Energy by 41.0% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 24,634 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 7,169 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.33% of the company’s stock.

Kosmos Energy Company Profile

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.