Trexquant Investment LP Makes New Investment in Kodiak Gas Services, Inc. $KGS

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP has acquired a new stake in Kodiak Gas Services, purchasing 13,303 shares valued at approximately $496,000 during the first quarter.
• Kodiak Gas Services announced a share buyback plan worth $50 million, indicating confidence from the company's leadership regarding its stock value.
• The company reported a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, representing an annualized yield of 5.3%, with a payout ratio currently at 200%.

Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in shares of Kodiak Gas Services, Inc. (NYSE:KGS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 13,303 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $496,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Zimmer Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Kodiak Gas Services by 88.1% during the 4th quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 3,347,700 shares of the company's stock worth $136,687,000 after purchasing an additional 1,567,849 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Kodiak Gas Services by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,044,939 shares of the company's stock worth $113,576,000 after acquiring an additional 102,157 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Kodiak Gas Services by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,897,588 shares of the company's stock worth $108,080,000 after acquiring an additional 238,573 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Kodiak Gas Services by 38.6% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,302,080 shares of the company's stock worth $48,568,000 after acquiring an additional 362,621 shares in the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Kodiak Gas Services during the 1st quarter worth about $40,648,000. 24.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kodiak Gas Services Stock Performance

Shares of KGS stock traded down $0.47 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $33.24. The company had a trading volume of 2,023,430 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,866,914. 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 52-week low of $26.12 and a 52-week high of $50.43. The stock has a market cap of $2.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.94 and a beta of 1.34. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $33.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.67.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.03. Kodiak Gas Services had a return on equity of 10.35% and a net margin of 6.48%.The firm had revenue of $322.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $335.10 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.06 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Kodiak Gas Services, Inc. will post 1.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.4%. Kodiak Gas Services's payout ratio is 200.00%.

Kodiak Gas Services announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Monday, August 11th that permits the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 1.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research lowered Kodiak Gas Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $43.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Kodiak Gas Services in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Kodiak Gas Services from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Mizuho increased their price target on Kodiak Gas Services from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Kodiak Gas Services from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.