Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS) Short Interest Up 8.7% in March

Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 38,620,000 shares, a growth of 8.7% from the March 15th total of 35,520,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 7,890,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.9 days.

Kosmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of KOS traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $6.09. The company had a trading volume of 8,193,635 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,756,466. The company’s 50-day moving average is $5.86 and its 200-day moving average is $6.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The company has a market capitalization of $2.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 2.37. Kosmos Energy has a twelve month low of $5.23 and a twelve month high of $8.28.

Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 26th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.08. Kosmos Energy had a return on equity of 39.94% and a net margin of 12.55%. The firm had revenue of $507.81 million during the quarter. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.23 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Kosmos Energy will post 0.75 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kosmos Energy news, CFO Nealesh D. Shah sold 84,672 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.03, for a total transaction of $510,572.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 1,502,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,058,302.18. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Kosmos Energy news, CFO Nealesh D. Shah sold 84,672 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.03, for a total value of $510,572.16. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 1,502,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,058,302.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Ronald W. Glass sold 17,525 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.03, for a total value of $105,675.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 290,855 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,753,855.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 335,337 shares of company stock valued at $2,022,082 over the last 90 days. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kosmos Energy

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Kosmos Energy by 207.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 19,684,099 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $146,451,000 after buying an additional 13,284,372 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Kosmos Energy by 291.5% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,048,295 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $57,868,000 after purchasing an additional 5,992,660 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Kosmos Energy by 22.6% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,401,775 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $182,639,000 after purchasing an additional 4,679,471 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Kosmos Energy by 268.2% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,197,882 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $46,113,000 after purchasing an additional 4,514,662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its stake in Kosmos Energy by 7.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 61,424,813 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $502,455,000 after purchasing an additional 4,208,188 shares in the last quarter. 95.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on KOS shares. StockNews.com raised Kosmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. TheStreet lowered shares of Kosmos Energy from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $9.63.

Kosmos Energy Company Profile

Kosmos Energy Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas along the Atlantic Margins in the United States. The company's primary assets include production projects located in offshore Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, and the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, as well as gas projects located in offshore Mauritania and Senegal.