Kodiak Gas Services, Inc. $KGS Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its holdings in Kodiak Gas Services, Inc. (NYSE:KGS) by 41.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 35,295 shares of the company’s stock after selling 25,285 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Kodiak Gas Services were worth $1,210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Kodiak Gas Services in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $40,648,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kodiak Gas Services by 58.3% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,983,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,979,000 after acquiring an additional 730,180 shares in the last quarter. Think Investments LP acquired a new position in Kodiak Gas Services in the first quarter valued at approximately $23,678,000. Zimmer Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Kodiak Gas Services by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 3,824,063 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,638,000 after buying an additional 476,363 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kodiak Gas Services by 5,009.6% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 375,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,018,000 after purchasing an additional 368,455 shares during the last quarter. 24.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kodiak Gas Services Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:KGS opened at $36.74 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $34.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08. Kodiak Gas Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $29.25 and a 12-month high of $50.43. The firm has a market cap of $3.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.92 and a beta of 1.33.

Kodiak Gas Services (NYSE:KGS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.14). Kodiak Gas Services had a return on equity of 10.37% and a net margin of 5.84%.The company had revenue of $322.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $328.23 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.07) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Kodiak Gas Services, Inc. will post 1.12 EPS for the current year.

Kodiak Gas Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Investors of record on Monday, November 3rd were issued a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 3rd. This is a positive change from Kodiak Gas Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.3%. Kodiak Gas Services’s payout ratio is 245.00%.

Kodiak Gas Services declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, August 11th that allows the company to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 1.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on KGS shares. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Kodiak Gas Services from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. William Blair began coverage on Kodiak Gas Services in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Kodiak Gas Services from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Kodiak Gas Services from $47.00 to $44.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $48.00 price target on shares of Kodiak Gas Services in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.29.

About Kodiak Gas Services

Kodiak Gas Services, Inc operates contract compression infrastructure for customers in the oil and gas industry in the United States. It operates in two segments, Compression Operations and Other Services. The Compression Operations segment operates company-owned and customer-owned compression infrastructure to enable the production, gathering, and transportation of natural gas and oil.