Wall Street Zen Upgrades Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) to Buy

Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on KOS. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded Kosmos Energy to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Mizuho upgraded Kosmos Energy to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Stephens cut their target price on Kosmos Energy from $3.00 to $2.40 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Kosmos Energy in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kosmos Energy has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $2.53.

Kosmos Energy Stock Performance

Kosmos Energy stock opened at $2.48 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $2.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $2.43. Kosmos Energy has a twelve month low of $0.84 and a twelve month high of $3.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.58. The company has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a PE ratio of -2.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.18 and a beta of 0.72.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.02. The firm 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Kosmos Energy will post 0.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kosmos Energy news, Director John Douglas Kelso Grant sold 43,466 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.73, for a total value of $118,662.18. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 82,311 shares in the company, valued at $224,709.03. This represents a 34.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Andrew G. Inglis sold 85,935 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.05, for a total transaction of $176,166.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,678,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,589,988.15. This trade represents a 1.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. Insiders have sold a total of 294,580 shares of company stock worth $689,275 over the last ninety days. 1.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kosmos Energy

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kosmos Energy by 175.2% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 6,766,857 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $6,140,000 after acquiring an additional 4,308,275 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Kosmos Energy by 224.0% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 5,339,638 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $14,844,000 after acquiring an additional 3,691,800 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Kosmos Energy by 66.9% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 7,048,196 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $6,396,000 after acquiring an additional 2,825,517 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in Kosmos Energy by 333.0% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 3,221,011 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $5,540,000 after acquiring an additional 2,477,102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Kosmos Energy by 19.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,045,593 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $10,930,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962,936 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.33% of the company’s stock.

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.