Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) Shares Up 8.3% on Analyst Upgrade

Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS) shares were up 8.3% during trading on Thursday after Johnson Rice upgraded the stock from an accumulate rating to a buy rating. Johnson Rice now has a $4.25 price target on the stock. Kosmos Energy traded as high as $2.93 and last traded at $2.88. Approximately 6,357,492 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 25,858,711 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.66.

KOS has been the subject of several other reports. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $1.00 target price (down from $3.40) on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Kosmos Energy from $2.00 to $1.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on Kosmos Energy from $1.70 to $0.80 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Kosmos Energy from $1.75 to $2.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Andrew G. Inglis bought 315,790 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $1.90 per share, with a total value of $600,001.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 4,542,807 shares in the company, valued at $8,631,333.30. This trade represents a 7.47% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Adebayo O. Ogunlesi acquired 3,157,895 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $1.90 per share, with a total value of $6,000,000.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,974,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,450,949.60. The trade was a 173.87% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kosmos Energy

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Kosmos Energy by 56.7% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 387,739 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $884,000 after purchasing an additional 140,261 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in Kosmos Energy by 4.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 278,082 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $634,000 after buying an additional 12,045 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Kosmos Energy by 21.1% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,541,006 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $5,793,000 after acquiring an additional 443,384 shares during the period. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Kosmos Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $120,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Kosmos Energy by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,263,585 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $19,376,000 after acquiring an additional 424,720 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.33% of the company’s stock.

Kosmos Energy Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $1.97 and a 200 day moving average of $1.56. The firm has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.53.

Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) last released its earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.14) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $294.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $323.46 million. Kosmos Energy had a negative net margin of 54.18% and a negative return on equity of 39.29%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Kosmos Energy Ltd. will post 0.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kosmos Energy Company Profile

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.