Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS) Stock Now Rated "Reduce" by Wall Street Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts have a “Reduce” consensus on Kosmos Energy, with four sell, three hold and two buy ratings among nine firms. The average 12-month price target is $2.53, below the reported $2.66 share price.
• Recent insider activity has been negative, with executives selling 169,012 shares worth approximately $346,475 over the past 90 days, though the transactions were made under pre-arranged plans to cover tax obligations.
• Kosmos reported quarterly EPS of $0.11, beating the $0.09 consensus estimate, while revenue of $607.25 million exceeded forecasts. Despite the earnings beat, the company posted a negative net margin and negative return on equity.

Shares of Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Reduce" from the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $2.53.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on KOS shares. Mizuho raised Kosmos Energy to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Kosmos Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 19th. Stephens dropped their target price on shares of Kosmos Energy from $3.00 to $2.40 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research report on Monday, August 3rd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kosmos Energy

In other news, CFO Nealesh D. Shah sold 45,980 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 1,935,410 shares in the company, valued at $3,967,590.50. This represents a 2.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.05, for a total value of $51,186.45. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 233,404 shares in the company, valued at approximately $478,478.20. This trade represents a 9.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 169,012 shares of company stock worth $346,475 over the last 90 days. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Kosmos Energy by 20.9% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 155,923 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 27,004 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kosmos Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $114,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in Kosmos Energy by 813.3% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 1,376,536 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $2,904,000 after buying an additional 1,225,813 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Kosmos Energy by 151.0% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 17,312 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 10,415 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Kosmos Energy by 20.9% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 159,576 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 27,591 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.33% of the company's stock.

Kosmos Energy Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE KOS opened at $2.66 on Monday. Kosmos Energy has a 12-month low of $0.84 and a 12-month high of $3.34. The company has a market cap of $1.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.17 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.58. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $2.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.68.

Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.02. Kosmos Energy had a negative net margin of 33.98% and a negative return on equity of 17.73%. The business had revenue of $607.25 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $483.23 million. Equities research analysts expect that Kosmos Energy will post 0.51 EPS 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. 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.