Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) Stock Price Down 7.6% on Analyst Downgrade

Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS)’s share price was down 7.6% on Thursday after The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded the stock from a neutral rating to a sell rating. The Goldman Sachs Group now has a $2.25 price target on the stock. Kosmos Energy traded as low as $2.54 and last traded at $2.56. Approximately 13,947,406 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 48% from the average daily volume of 26,655,258 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.77.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Kosmos Energy in a report on Monday, December 29th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Kosmos Energy from $2.00 to $1.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on shares of Kosmos Energy from $1.70 to $0.80 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 5th. Johnson Rice upgraded shares of Kosmos Energy from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $4.25 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kosmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $2.22.

Insider Transactions at Kosmos Energy

In related news, CEO Andrew G. Inglis bought 315,790 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $1.90 per share, for a total transaction of $600,001.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,542,807 shares in the company, valued at $8,631,333.30. The trade was a 7.47% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Josh R. Marion sold 19,656 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.37, for a total transaction of $26,928.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 197,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $270,450.33. The trade was a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 3,684,210 shares of company stock valued at $6,999,999 and sold 272,844 shares valued at $377,592. Insiders own 1.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kosmos Energy by 333.0% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 3,221,011 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $5,540,000 after buying an additional 2,477,102 shares in the last quarter. M&G PLC lifted its stake in shares of Kosmos Energy by 38.3% during the 3rd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 7,978,144 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $13,244,000 after buying an additional 2,210,302 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kosmos Energy by 34.1% during the 3rd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,747,831 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,561,000 after buying an additional 698,740 shares in the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kosmos Energy by 40.5% during the 3rd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 738,806 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,226,000 after buying an additional 212,970 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Kosmos Energy by 236.6% during the 3rd quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 161,920 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $269,000 after buying an additional 113,812 shares in the last quarter. 95.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kosmos Energy Stock Down 7.9%

The company has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of -1.75, a PEG ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.53, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.75. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $2.27 and its 200 day moving average is $1.64.

Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.16) EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $294.62 million for the quarter. Kosmos Energy had a negative net margin of 54.18% and a negative return on equity of 39.29%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kosmos Energy Ltd. will post 0.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.