Short Interest in Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS) Drops By 12.6%

Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 58,126,894 shares, a drop of 12.6% from the December 31st total of 66,509,214 shares. Approximately 12.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 26,972,091 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 26,972,091 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days. Approximately 12.4% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Kosmos Energy

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake 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 valued at $57,467,000 after acquiring an additional 4,175,537 shares during the period. Patient Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kosmos Energy by 7.4% during the 2nd 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. Equinox Partners Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Kosmos Energy by 41.6% in the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 5,485,000 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in 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 worth $23,772,000 after purchasing an additional 286,593 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Kosmos Energy by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,263,585 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $19,376,000 after buying an additional 424,720 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KOS has been the topic of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on Kosmos Energy from $1.70 to $0.80 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Kosmos Energy from $1.75 to $2.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Clarkson Capital initiated coverage on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research note on Friday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $4.00 target price on the stock. Stephens began coverage on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $1.75 price target for the company. Finally, Johnson Rice lowered shares of Kosmos Energy from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $4.50 to $3.50 in a report on Friday, December 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2.08.

Kosmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of KOS opened at $1.54 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $736.44 million, a P/E ratio of -2.26 and a beta of 0.90. Kosmos Energy has a 1 year low of $0.84 and a 1 year high of $3.49. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $1.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04.

Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.15) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.02). Kosmos Energy had a negative net margin of 23.64% and a negative return on equity of 26.28%. The company had revenue of $310.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $360.82 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Kosmos Energy will post 0.42 earnings per share for the current year.

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.