Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) Stock Price Up 8.3% Following Analyst Upgrade

Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS) shares were up 8.3% 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 traded hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 25,858,711 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.66.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Kosmos Energy from $1.75 to $2.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $1.00 price target (down from $3.40) on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Kosmos Energy in a report on Monday, December 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective 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, Mizuho dropped their price objective on Kosmos Energy from $2.00 to $1.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2.19.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Adebayo O. Ogunlesi acquired 3,157,895 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $1.90 per share, with a total value of $6,000,000.50. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 4,974,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,450,949.60. The trade was a 173.87% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director J Michael Stice bought 52,631 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $1.90 per share, with a total value of $99,998.90. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 207,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $394,478. The trade was a 33.96% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 3,684,210 shares of company stock worth $6,999,999 and sold 272,844 shares worth $377,592. 1.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kosmos Energy

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

Kosmos Energy Trading Up 7.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.53, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $1.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.55. The stock has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.76.

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