Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) Shares Up 4.6% – Here’s Why

Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS)’s share price rose 4.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $2.39 and last traded at $2.38. Approximately 1,769,466 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 7,694,332 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.27.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on KOS shares. Benchmark cut shares of Kosmos Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kosmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $5.60 price objective on shares of Kosmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Kosmos Energy from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on Kosmos Energy from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $5.27.

Kosmos Energy Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.03, a PEG ratio of 5.24 and a beta of 2.31. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $2.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by ($0.02). Kosmos Energy had a return on equity of 31.08% and a net margin of 12.21%. The business had revenue of $397.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $387.60 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Kosmos Energy Ltd. will post 0.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Kosmos Energy

In other news, CAO Ronald W. Glass sold 16,182 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.12, for a total transaction of $50,487.84. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 320,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $999,120.72. This represents a 4.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Josh R. Marion sold 16,144 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.12, for a total transaction of $50,369.28. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 172,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $536,817.84. This represents a 8.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 503,970 shares of company stock worth $1,572,386. Insiders own 2.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kosmos Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in Kosmos Energy by 24.9% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 19,711 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 3,932 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kosmos Energy by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 45,393 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $155,000 after purchasing an additional 4,381 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kosmos Energy by 3.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 124,408 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $531,000 after purchasing an additional 4,640 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Kosmos Energy by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 171,852 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $588,000 after purchasing an additional 6,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in Kosmos Energy by 21.1% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 37,047 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 6,460 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.33% of the company’s stock.

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.