Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) Shares Down 4.4% – Time to Sell?

Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS) shares traded down 4.4% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $2.58 and last traded at $2.61. 3,086,028 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 18,966,494 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.73.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho upgraded Kosmos Energy to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded Kosmos Energy to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Kosmos Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Stephens lowered their target price on shares of Kosmos Energy from $3.00 to $2.40 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Kosmos Energy currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $2.53.

Kosmos Energy Stock Down 2.3%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $2.67 and a 200 day moving average of $2.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.58, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.17 and a beta of 0.73.

Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $607.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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, research analysts anticipate that Kosmos Energy Ltd. will post 0.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Andrew G. Inglis sold 85,935 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 owned 4,678,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,589,988.15. This represents a 1.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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, CFO Nealesh D. Shah sold 45,980 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.05, for a total value of $94,259.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 1,935,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,967,590.50. The trade was a 2.32% decrease in their position. 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 169,012 shares of company stock valued at $346,475. 1.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kosmos Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Kosmos Energy by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,541,020 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $15,404,000 after buying an additional 689,800 shares in the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. lifted its position in shares of Kosmos Energy by 321.9% during the second quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 525,378 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,109,000 after acquiring an additional 400,842 shares in the last quarter. Equinox Partners Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Kosmos Energy by 6.2% during the first quarter. Equinox Partners Investment Management LLC now owns 20,678,033 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $57,485,000 after acquiring an additional 1,208,053 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kosmos Energy by 813.3% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 1,376,536 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,904,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225,813 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Kosmos Energy by 20.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,083,075 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $19,699,000 after purchasing an additional 1,204,789 shares in the last quarter. 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. 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.