Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS) saw an uptick in trading volume on Wednesday . 44,736,845 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 100% from the previous session’s volume of 22,378,039 shares.The stock last traded at $1.98 and had previously closed at $2.41.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on KOS shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price 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. Stephens initiated coverage on Kosmos Energy in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $1.75 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Johnson Rice downgraded Kosmos Energy from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $4.50 to $3.50 in a report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Kosmos Energy from $1.75 to $2.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2.08.

Kosmos Energy Trading Down 18.7%

The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.53. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $1.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1.49. The stock has a market cap of $942.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.34 and a beta of 0.76.

Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) last announced 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 analyst estimates 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, equities analysts anticipate that Kosmos Energy Ltd. will post 0.42 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Kosmos Energy

In other news, CEO Andrew G. Inglis sold 44,628 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.42, for a total value of $63,371.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 4,227,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,002,364.14. The trade was a 1.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Josh R. Marion sold 19,656 shares of the company’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 sale, the senior vice president owned 197,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $270,450.33. This trade represents a 9.06% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 272,844 shares of company stock valued at $377,592. Insiders own 2.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kosmos Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Kosmos Energy by 14.3% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 33,411,046 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $57,467,000 after buying an additional 4,175,537 shares during the last quarter. Equinox Partners Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Kosmos Energy by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Equinox Partners Investment Management LLC now owns 19,469,980 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $17,667,000 after purchasing an additional 1,689,500 shares during the period. Patient Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Kosmos Energy by 7.4% in the second quarter. Patient Capital Management LLC now owns 19,339,717 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $33,264,000 after purchasing an additional 1,334,930 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Kosmos Energy by 2.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,320,597 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $23,772,000 after purchasing an additional 286,593 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kosmos Energy by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,045,593 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $10,930,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962,936 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.33% of the company’s stock.

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.