Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) Shares Climb 3.9% – Here’s Why

Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS)’s stock price was up 3.9% during trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $2.69 and last traded at $2.67. Approximately 5,190,465 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 18,914,439 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.57.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Mizuho raised shares of Kosmos Energy to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Stephens cut their price objective on Kosmos Energy from $3.00 to $2.40 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Kosmos Energy in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Kosmos Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $2.53.

Kosmos Energy Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $2.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $2.67. The stock has a market cap of $1.66 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.17 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.58.

Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $607.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $483.23 million. Kosmos Energy had a negative net margin of 33.98% and a negative return on equity of 17.73%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Kosmos Energy Ltd. will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kosmos Energy news, CEO Andrew Inglis sold 85,935 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.05, for a total value of $176,166.75. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 4,678,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,589,988.15. The trade was a 1.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Josh Marion sold 24,969 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.05, for a total value of $51,186.45. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 233,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $478,478.20. The trade was a 9.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders have sold 169,012 shares of company stock valued at $346,475. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kosmos Energy

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of KOS. Equinox Partners Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Kosmos Energy by 6.2% during the first quarter. Equinox Partners Investment Management LLC now owns 20,678,033 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $57,485,000 after acquiring an additional 1,208,053 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 646,052 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Kosmos Energy by 20.5% during the 1st 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 grew its position in shares of Kosmos Energy by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,541,020 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $15,404,000 after buying an additional 689,800 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Kosmos Energy by 224.0% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 5,339,638 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $14,844,000 after acquiring an additional 3,691,800 shares in the last quarter. 95.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kosmos Energy Company Profile

Kosmos Energy Ltd. is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The company focuses on finding, developing and producing oil and natural gas resources, with an emphasis on offshore assets in emerging and established energy regions.

Kosmos has historically concentrated its operations along the Atlantic margins of West Africa, including interests in Ghana, Equatorial Guinea and the waters offshore Mauritania and Senegal. Its activities have included exploration, field development and production of crude oil and natural gas, as well as participation in projects designed to supply natural gas for liquefied natural gas (LNG) production and domestic markets.

Founded in 2003, Kosmos was involved in the discovery and development of major petroleum resources offshore Ghana, including the Jubilee and TEN fields.