Viking Fund Management LLC Raises Stake in Kodiak Gas Services, Inc. $KGS

Key Points

• Viking Fund Management LLC increased its stake in Kodiak Gas Services by 20.3% during the second quarter, owning 89,000 shares worth approximately $3.05 million.
• Multiple brokerages have raised their price targets for Kodiak Gas Services, with a consensus target price set at $43.50 and a general rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Kodiak Gas Services announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, with a 5.4% yield, and approved a $50 million stock buyback program, signaling confidence in its stock valuation.

Viking Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kodiak Gas Services, Inc. (NYSE:KGS - Free Report) by 20.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 89,000 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 15,000 shares during the quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Kodiak Gas Services worth $3,050,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KGS. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in Kodiak Gas Services by 281.2% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 56,644 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,313,000 after buying an additional 41,784 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Kodiak Gas Services by 68.3% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 18,517 shares of the company's stock worth $756,000 after purchasing an additional 7,516 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Kodiak Gas Services by 163.4% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 98,441 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,019,000 after purchasing an additional 61,069 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kodiak Gas Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $374,000. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new position in Kodiak Gas Services during the 4th quarter worth about $57,000. 24.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kodiak Gas Services Trading Up 4.7%

KGS traded up $1.60 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $35.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 429,871 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,324,790. Kodiak Gas Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.37 and a twelve month high of $50.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $33.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.33 and a beta of 1.34.

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. The business had revenue of $322.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $335.10 million. Kodiak Gas Services had a net margin of 6.48% and a return on equity of 10.35%. Kodiak Gas Services's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.06 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Kodiak Gas Services, Inc. will post 1.12 EPS for the current year.

Kodiak Gas Services Announces Dividend

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

Kodiak Gas Services declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, August 11th that permits the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 1.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on KGS. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on 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 report on Friday, August 29th. Barclays upped their target price on Kodiak Gas Services from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $43.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Kodiak Gas Services in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Kodiak Gas Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kodiak Gas Services currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.50.

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.