Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) Lowered to “Buy” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

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

Kosmos Energy Price Performance

KOS opened at $2.74 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $2.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $2.67. Kosmos Energy has a 12-month low of $0.84 and a 12-month high of $3.34. The firm has a market cap of $1.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.30, a PEG ratio of 0.18 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.58.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Nealesh D. Shah sold 45,980 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.05, for a total value of $94,259.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 1,935,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,967,590.50. This trade represents a 2.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 R. Marion sold 24,969 shares of Kosmos Energy 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 $51,186.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 233,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $478,478.20. This represents a 9.66% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 quarter, insiders sold 169,012 shares of company stock worth $346,475. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kosmos Energy

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 3,691,800 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Kosmos Energy during the second quarter worth $6,188,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Kosmos Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $3,913,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in Kosmos Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $4,809,000. Finally, Equinox Partners Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Kosmos Energy by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Equinox Partners Investment Management LLC now owns 19,469,980 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $17,667,000 after acquiring an additional 1,689,500 shares in the last quarter. 95.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Kosmos Energy

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.