Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 1,559,172 Shares of Kodiak Gas Services, Inc. $KGS

Key Points

• Vanguard boosted its stake in Kodiak Gas Services by 33.8% in the fourth quarter, buying 1.56 million more shares and ending with 6.17 million shares valued at about $230.8 million.
• Kodiak Gas Services reported mixed quarterly results, posting earnings of $0.40 per share versus the $0.53 estimate, while revenue came in slightly above expectations at $332.9 million and rose 7.6% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend and drew more bullish analyst attention, with a $0.49 per-share dividend due May 28 and several firms lifting price targets; analysts now rate the stock a consensus “Moderate Buy.”

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Kodiak Gas Services, Inc. (NYSE:KGS - Free Report) by 33.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,170,360 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,559,172 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 7.12% of Kodiak Gas Services worth $230,771,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KGS. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Kodiak Gas Services by 29.5% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,305,789 shares of the company's stock worth $233,125,000 after acquiring an additional 1,436,443 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Kodiak Gas Services by 19.2% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,593,033 shares of the company's stock valued at $95,868,000 after acquiring an additional 418,227 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Kodiak Gas Services by 58.3% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,983,360 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,979,000 after acquiring an additional 730,180 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kodiak Gas Services by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,851,322 shares of the company's stock worth $68,443,000 after purchasing an additional 229,220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its stake in shares of Kodiak Gas Services by 71.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,396,280 shares of the company's stock worth $51,620,000 after purchasing an additional 579,967 shares in the last quarter. 24.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kodiak Gas Services Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of KGS stock opened at $69.64 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.57. Kodiak Gas Services, Inc. has a one year low of $30.06 and a one year high of $71.92. The company's fifty day moving average price is $60.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.17. The company has a market capitalization of $5.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.05, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.01.

Kodiak Gas Services (NYSE:KGS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $332.87 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $330.95 million. Kodiak Gas Services had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 6.16%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.21 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Kodiak Gas Services, Inc. will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kodiak Gas Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Kodiak Gas Services's dividend payout ratio is 225.29%.

Insider Activity

In other Kodiak Gas Services news, CAO Ewan William Hamilton sold 5,797 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.18, for a total value of $325,675.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 34,346 shares in the company, valued at $1,929,558.28. This represents a 14.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Randall J. Hogan purchased 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $54.81 per share, with a total value of $328,860.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 28,406 shares in the company, valued at $1,556,932.86. This trade represents a 26.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have bought 11,433 shares of company stock valued at $624,360 and have sold 58,673 shares valued at $3,269,110. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on KGS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Kodiak Gas Services from $45.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Barclays upped their price target on Kodiak Gas Services from $49.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Kodiak Gas Services from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Kodiak Gas Services from $53.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on Kodiak Gas Services from $36.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $55.86.

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.

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