Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS) gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $1.30, but opened at $1.35. Kosmos Energy shares last traded at $1.2750, with a volume of 1,425,996 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on KOS. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Kosmos Energy in a report on Monday, December 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of Kosmos Energy from $1.70 to $0.80 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 5th. Stephens began coverage on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $1.75 price objective for the company. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Kosmos Energy from $2.00 to $1.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Johnson Rice cut Kosmos Energy from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $4.50 to $3.50 in a report on Friday, December 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2.08.

Kosmos Energy Trading Down 1.2%

The stock has a market capitalization of $614.65 million, a PE ratio of -1.87 and a beta of 0.89. 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $1.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1.52.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KOS. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 4,175,537 shares during the period. Patient Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Kosmos Energy by 7.4% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Equinox Partners Investment Management LLC boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 5,485,000 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 286,593 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $19,376,000 after acquiring an additional 424,720 shares in the last quarter. 95.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.