Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $2.63, but opened at $2.55. Kosmos Energy shares last traded at $2.59, with a volume of 1,188,434 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on KOS shares. Stephens decreased their price target on Kosmos Energy from $3.00 to $2.40 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded shares of Kosmos Energy to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Kosmos Energy to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Kosmos Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kosmos Energy has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $2.53.

Kosmos Energy Trading Down 0.8%

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.18 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.58, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.59. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $2.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $2.67.

Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.02. Kosmos Energy had a negative return on equity of 17.73% and a negative net margin of 33.98%.The firm had revenue of $607.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $483.23 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Kosmos Energy Ltd. will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Kosmos Energy

In related news, CFO Nealesh D. Shah sold 45,980 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.05, for a total transaction of $94,259.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 1,935,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,967,590.50. This represents a 2.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, SVP Josh R. Marion sold 24,969 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.05, for a total transaction of $51,186.45. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 233,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $478,478.20. This trade represents a 9.66% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 169,012 shares of company stock worth $346,475 in the last three months. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kosmos Energy

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Equinox Partners Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Kosmos Energy by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Equinox Partners Investment Management LLC now owns 20,678,033 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $57,485,000 after acquiring an additional 1,208,053 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Kosmos Energy by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 7,694,248 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $21,390,000 after purchasing an additional 646,052 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Kosmos Energy by 20.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,083,075 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $19,699,000 after purchasing an additional 1,204,789 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Kosmos Energy by 14.2% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,541,020 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $15,404,000 after purchasing an additional 689,800 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kosmos Energy by 224.0% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 5,339,638 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $14,844,000 after purchasing an additional 3,691,800 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.33% of the company’s stock.

About Kosmos Energy

Kosmos Energy Ltd. is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The company focuses on finding, developing and producing oil and natural gas resources, with an emphasis on offshore assets in emerging and established energy regions.

Kosmos has historically concentrated its operations along the Atlantic margins of West Africa, including interests in Ghana, Equatorial Guinea and the waters offshore Mauritania and Senegal. Its activities have included exploration, field development and production of crude oil and natural gas, as well as participation in projects designed to supply natural gas for liquefied natural gas (LNG) production and domestic markets.

Founded in 2003, Kosmos was involved in the discovery and development of major petroleum resources offshore Ghana, including the Jubilee and TEN fields.