Dark Forest Capital Management LP Has $4.96 Million Position in Kodiak Gas Services, Inc. $KGS

Key Points

• Dark Forest Capital Management LP increased its stake in Kodiak Gas Services by 107.9%, acquiring an additional 68,932 shares, bringing its total to 132,837 shares valued at approximately $4.96 million.
• Wall Street analysts have shown optimism for Kodiak Gas Services, with several firms raising their price targets and the consensus rating being a "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $41.30.
• Kodiak Gas Services recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share and approved a stock buyback program worth $50 million, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Dark Forest Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Kodiak Gas Services, Inc. (NYSE:KGS - Free Report) by 107.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 132,837 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 68,932 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP owned about 0.15% of Kodiak Gas Services worth $4,955,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Amalgamated Bank raised its holdings in Kodiak Gas Services by 40.0% during the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 1,554 shares of the company's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in Kodiak Gas Services by 37.3% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 60,450 shares of the company's stock worth $2,255,000 after purchasing an additional 16,408 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Kodiak Gas Services by 3,401.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 24,618 shares of the company's stock worth $918,000 after purchasing an additional 23,915 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV bought a new position in Kodiak Gas Services during the 1st quarter worth approximately $116,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Kodiak Gas Services by 13.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 443,666 shares of the company's stock worth $16,549,000 after purchasing an additional 52,522 shares during the last quarter. 24.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kodiak Gas Services Trading Down 3.2%

Shares of NYSE:KGS traded down $1.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $35.34. The company had a trading volume of 1,431,385 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,298,398. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $33.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.09. The company has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 39.26 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Kodiak Gas Services, Inc. has a one year low of $25.21 and a one year high of $50.43.

Kodiak Gas Services (NYSE:KGS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03. Kodiak Gas Services had a net margin of 6.48% and a return on equity of 10.35%. The business had revenue of $322.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $335.10 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.06 EPS. Kodiak Gas Services's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Kodiak Gas Services, Inc. will post 1.12 EPS for the current year.

Kodiak Gas Services announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, August 11th that allows the company to repurchase $50.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 1.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Kodiak Gas Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th were given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 4th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. Kodiak Gas Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 200.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on KGS. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Kodiak Gas Services from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Kodiak Gas Services from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Kodiak Gas Services from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $43.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Kodiak Gas Services in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $41.30.

Kodiak Gas Services Profile

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.