Lazard Asset Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Kodiak Gas Services, Inc. $KGS

Lazard Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Kodiak Gas Services, Inc. (NYSE:KGS) by 20.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 84,385 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,391 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Kodiak Gas Services were worth $4,921,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of KGS. Castleark Management LLC raised its position in Kodiak Gas Services by 44.8% in the first quarter. Castleark Management LLC now owns 15,320 shares of the company’s stock worth $893,000 after acquiring an additional 4,740 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Kodiak Gas Services in the first quarter valued at $536,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Kodiak Gas Services during the 1st quarter worth $8,923,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Kodiak Gas Services by 45.9% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 838,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,908,000 after purchasing an additional 263,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Compound Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kodiak Gas Services during the 1st quarter worth $596,000. 24.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Kodiak Gas Services from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Zacks Research raised shares of Kodiak Gas Services from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Kodiak Gas Services from $64.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Kodiak Gas Services in a research report on Tuesday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $78.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Kodiak Gas Services in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $93.00 target price for the company. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kodiak Gas Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kodiak Gas Services

In other Kodiak Gas Services news, insider Pedro R. Buhigas sold 4,625 shares of Kodiak Gas Services stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.78, for a total transaction of $313,482.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 38,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,606,412.12. The trade was a 10.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO William Chad Lenamon sold 1,000 shares of Kodiak Gas Services stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.79, for a total transaction of $67,790.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 87,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,917,660.26. The trade was a 1.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 13,523 shares of company stock valued at $921,319 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Kodiak Gas Services Stock Up 0.8%

KGS opened at $58.70 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $67.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.28. The company has a market cap of $5.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.33, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.89. Kodiak Gas Services, Inc. has a one year low of $30.06 and a one year high of $77.68.

Kodiak Gas Services (NYSE:KGS) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.05. Kodiak Gas Services had a return on equity of 13.12% and a net margin of 5.13%.The company had revenue of $345.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $340.23 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.33 earnings per share. Kodiak Gas Services’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Kodiak Gas Services, Inc. will post 2.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kodiak Gas Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were given a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Kodiak Gas Services’s payout ratio is currently 264.86%.

About Kodiak Gas Services

Kodiak Gas Services, Inc operates contract compression infrastructure for customers in the oil and gas industry in the United States. It operates in two segments, Compression Operations and Other Services. The Compression Operations segment operates company-owned and customer-owned compression infrastructure to enable the production, gathering, and transportation of natural gas and oil. The Other Services segment provides a range of contract services, including station construction, maintenance and overhaul, and other ancillary time and material-based offerings.