Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) Trading Down 8.5% – Here’s What Happened

Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS)’s stock price was down 8.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $1.63 and last traded at $1.6650. Approximately 6,076,465 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 18,957,090 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.82.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on KOS shares. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $1.00 target price (down from $3.40) on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target 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. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Stephens began coverage on Kosmos Energy in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $1.75 price objective on the stock. Finally, Johnson Rice lowered Kosmos Energy from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $4.50 to $3.50 in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2.08.

Kosmos Energy Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04. The company has a market cap of $801.20 million, a PE ratio of -2.46 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $1.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1.46.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Ronald W. Glass sold 19,285 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 $26,420.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 342,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $469,834.65. This trade represents a 5.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Nealesh D. Shah sold 54,434 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 $74,574.58. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 1,729,857 shares in the company, valued at $2,369,904.09. This represents a 3.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 272,844 shares of company stock valued at $377,592 over the last ninety days. 1.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KOS. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Kosmos Energy by 14.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 4,175,537 shares during the last quarter. Patient Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $33,264,000 after buying an additional 1,334,930 shares during the last quarter. Equinox Partners Investment Management LLC grew its position in Kosmos Energy by 41.6% during the second quarter. Equinox Partners Investment Management LLC now owns 18,671,480 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $32,115,000 after buying an additional 5,485,000 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 286,593 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in 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 valued at $10,930,000 after buying an additional 1,962,936 shares during the last quarter. 95.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.