Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $2.57, but opened at $2.69. Kosmos Energy shares last traded at $2.69, with a volume of 6,387,821 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on KOS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Kosmos Energy from $1.75 to $2.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Johnson Rice cut shares of Kosmos Energy from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $4.50 to $3.50 in a report on Friday, December 5th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Kosmos Energy from $2.00 to $1.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 12th. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $1.00 price target (down from $3.40) on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on shares of Kosmos Energy from $1.70 to $0.80 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2.08.

Kosmos Energy Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.79 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.53, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $1.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1.48.

Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 2nd. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.16) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.14) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $294.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $323.46 million. Kosmos Energy had a negative return on equity of 39.29% and a negative net margin of 54.18%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Kosmos Energy Ltd. will post 0.42 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Kosmos Energy

In related news, CFO Nealesh D. Shah sold 24,690 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.42, for a total transaction of $35,059.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,705,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,421,337.14. This trade represents a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Josh R. Marion sold 19,656 shares of Kosmos Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.37, for a total value of $26,928.72. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 197,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $270,450.33. This represents a 9.06% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 272,844 shares of company stock worth $377,592. Company insiders own 2.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kosmos Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in Kosmos Energy by 93.9% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Kosmos Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Old Port Advisors bought a new position in shares of Kosmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Kosmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its position in shares of Kosmos Energy by 35.7% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 42,577 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 11,209 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.