Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS) shares gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $2.56, but opened at $2.45. Kosmos Energy shares last traded at $2.43, with a volume of 5,805,616 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on KOS. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $1.00 price objective (down from $3.40) on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on Kosmos Energy from $1.70 to $0.80 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 5th. Johnson Rice downgraded Kosmos Energy from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $4.50 to $3.50 in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Kosmos Energy from $2.00 to $1.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on Kosmos Energy in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $1.75 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2.08.

Kosmos Energy Stock Performance

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 company has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a PE ratio of -1.65 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $1.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $1.49.

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

Insider Transactions at Kosmos Energy

In related news, CFO Nealesh D. Shah sold 54,434 shares of Kosmos Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.37, for a total value of $74,574.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 1,729,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,369,904.09. This trade represents a 3.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrew G. Inglis sold 103,554 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 $141,868.98. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,271,645 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,852,153.65. This trade represents a 2.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 272,844 shares of company stock worth $377,592 over the last 90 days. 2.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kosmos Energy by 14.3% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 33,411,046 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $57,467,000 after acquiring an additional 4,175,537 shares in the last quarter. Equinox Partners Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $17,667,000 after purchasing an additional 1,689,500 shares in the last quarter. Patient Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $33,264,000 after purchasing an additional 1,334,930 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kosmos Energy by 2.0% during the 3rd 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 period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Kosmos Energy by 19.5% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 95.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.