Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) Shares Break Above 50-Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS) shares crossed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $2.76 and traded as high as $2.90. Kosmos Energy shares last traded at $2.90, with a volume of 26,184,133 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on KOS shares. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Kosmos Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $2.75 to $2.90 in a research note on Wednesday. Stephens reduced their price target on Kosmos Energy from $3.00 to $2.40 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Mizuho raised shares of Kosmos Energy to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Kosmos Energy in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Kosmos Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $2.37.

Kosmos Energy Trading Up 8.2%

The company has a market cap of $1.73 billion, a PE ratio of -2.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.17 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.58, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $2.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $2.50.

Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $607.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $483.23 million. Kosmos Energy had a negative return on equity of 17.73% and a negative net margin of 33.98%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kosmos Energy Ltd. will post 0.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Kosmos Energy by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 7,694,248 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $21,390,000 after acquiring an additional 646,052 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Kosmos Energy by 20.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,083,075 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $19,699,000 after buying an additional 1,204,789 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Kosmos Energy by 14.2% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,541,020 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $15,404,000 after purchasing an additional 689,800 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in Kosmos Energy by 224.0% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 5,339,638 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $14,844,000 after buying an additional 3,691,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC lifted its position in shares of Kosmos Energy by 98.2% during the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 2,490,698 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $5,255,000 after purchasing an additional 1,233,831 shares in the last quarter. 95.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Kosmos Energy

Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE: KOS) is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil and natural gas. The company focuses primarily on offshore assets and seeks to develop resources in partnership with national oil companies, international energy companies and other industry participants.

Kosmos has historically operated across several regions, including offshore Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, Mauritania and Senegal, as well as the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.