Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) Cut to “Hold” at Benchmark

Benchmark downgraded shares of Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on KOS. StockNews.com cut Kosmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Kosmos Energy from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $5.60 target price on shares of Kosmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on Kosmos Energy from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kosmos Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $5.52.

Kosmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of KOS stock opened at $2.13 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $3.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $3.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25. The firm has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.83, a PEG ratio of 5.24 and a beta of 2.41. Kosmos Energy has a 12 month low of $2.11 and a 12 month high of $6.58.

Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by ($0.02). Kosmos Energy had a return on equity of 31.08% and a net margin of 12.21%. The firm had revenue of $397.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $387.60 million. Research analysts expect that Kosmos Energy will post 0.42 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Josh R. Marion sold 16,144 shares of Kosmos Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.12, for a total transaction of $50,369.28. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 172,057 shares in the company, valued at $536,817.84. The trade was a 8.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ronald W. Glass sold 10,354 shares of Kosmos Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.12, for a total value of $32,304.48. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 299,498 shares in the company, valued at $934,433.76. This trade represents a 3.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 503,970 shares of company stock worth $1,572,386 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kosmos Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in Kosmos Energy by 24.9% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 19,711 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 3,932 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Kosmos Energy by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 45,393 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $155,000 after buying an additional 4,381 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Kosmos Energy by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 124,408 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $531,000 after buying an additional 4,640 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC raised its position in Kosmos Energy by 42.8% in the 3rd quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 16,424 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 4,921 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in Kosmos Energy by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 171,852 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $588,000 after buying an additional 6,300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.33% of the company’s stock.

About Kosmos Energy

Kosmos Energy Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas along the Atlantic Margins in the United States. The company’s primary assets include production projects located in offshore Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, and the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, as well as gas projects located in offshore Mauritania and Senegal.