Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Shares of Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $2.69, but opened at $2.93. Kosmos Energy shares last traded at $2.98, with a volume of 5,678,729 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Kosmos Energy from $2.00 to $1.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $1.00 price objective (down from $3.40) on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Wall Street Zen raised Kosmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Johnson Rice raised shares of Kosmos Energy from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $4.25 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kosmos Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2.19.

Kosmos Energy Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.53. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $2.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1.61. The firm has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a PE ratio of -2.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.65.

Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) last issued its earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Kosmos Energy had a negative return on equity of 39.29% and a negative net margin of 54.18%.The firm had revenue of $294.62 million during the quarter. As a group, equities analysts expect that Kosmos Energy Ltd. will post 0.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Nealesh D. Shah acquired 157,894 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $1.90 per share, for a total transaction of $299,998.60. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 1,863,061 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,539,815.90. This represents a 9.26% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Josh R. Marion sold 19,656 shares of Kosmos Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.37, for a total transaction of $26,928.72. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 197,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $270,450.33. This trade represents a 9.06% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have bought 3,684,210 shares of company stock worth $6,999,999 and have sold 272,844 shares worth $377,592. 1.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in Kosmos Energy by 93.9% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 28,601 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 13,854 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kosmos Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Old Port Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Kosmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new stake in Kosmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in Kosmos Energy by 35.7% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 42,577 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 11,209 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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. Since its founding in 2003, the company has focused on identifying and developing hydrocarbon reserves in frontier and emerging basins around the world. Kosmos combines geological and geophysical expertise with a disciplined approach to acreage acquisition and partner selection to pursue high‐impact offshore exploration opportunities.

The company’s portfolio is anchored by assets in West Africa and the Gulf of Mexico.