Kosmos Energy Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:KOS)

Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Traders acquired 11,067 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 278% compared to the typical volume of 2,931 call options.

Kosmos Energy Price Performance

KOS stock opened at $2.02 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $963.19 million, a PE ratio of -67.14 and a beta of 1.44. The company’s 50-day moving average is $1.85 and its 200-day moving average is $2.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.59, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.40. Kosmos Energy has a 1 year low of $1.39 and a 1 year high of $5.97.

Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.15) by ($0.07). Kosmos Energy had a negative return on equity of 0.63% and a negative net margin of 0.80%. The company had revenue of $290.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $338.23 million. Equities research analysts expect that Kosmos Energy will post 0.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on KOS. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Kosmos Energy from $4.00 to $3.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Kosmos Energy to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Kosmos Energy from $3.50 to $3.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $4.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John Douglas Kelso Grant sold 27,923 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.81, for a total value of $50,540.63. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 29,921 shares in the company, valued at $54,157.01. This represents a 48.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kosmos Energy

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KOS. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kosmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,723,000. Patient Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Kosmos Energy by 81.6% during the 4th quarter. Patient Capital Management LLC now owns 17,147,729 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $58,645,000 after purchasing an additional 7,707,707 shares during the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC increased its stake in shares of Kosmos Energy by 22.1% during the 4th quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 32,627,567 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $111,586,000 after purchasing an additional 5,906,210 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Kosmos Energy by 28.1% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 18,743,734 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $64,104,000 after purchasing an additional 4,114,499 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Kosmos Energy by 40.2% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,898,600 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $24,849,000 after purchasing an additional 3,127,003 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.