Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) Shares Down 8.2% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS) were down 8.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $2.31 and last traded at $2.36. Approximately 5,343,557 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 20,829,016 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.57.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on KOS. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Kosmos Energy from $1.75 to $2.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Mizuho dropped their price target on 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 restated an “underperform” rating and set a $1.00 price target (down from $3.40) on shares of Kosmos Energy in a report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Stephens began coverage on Kosmos Energy in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $1.75 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2.08.

Kosmos Energy Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04. The company has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.69 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $1.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $1.47.

Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) last released its earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.16) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.14) by ($0.02). Kosmos Energy had a negative net margin of 54.18% and a negative return on equity of 34.63%. The company had revenue of $294.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $323.46 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Kosmos Energy Ltd. will post 0.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Josh R. Marion sold 19,656 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 197,409 shares in the company, valued at $270,450.33. This trade represents a 9.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrew G. Inglis sold 44,628 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.42, for a total value of $63,371.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,227,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,002,364.14. This represents a 1.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 272,844 shares of company stock valued at $377,592 in the last 90 days. 2.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kosmos Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KOS. Alpine Global Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kosmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $188,000. Aristides Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kosmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $179,000. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its holdings in Kosmos Energy by 500.6% during the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 914,037 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $829,000 after purchasing an additional 761,861 shares during the last quarter. Numerai GP LLC bought a new position in Kosmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $69,000. Finally, Man Group plc bought a new position in shares of Kosmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth $140,000. 95.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.