Insider Selling: Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) SVP Sells $51,186.45 in Stock

Key Points

• Kosmos Energy SVP Josh Marion sold 24,969 shares on July 2 for about $51,186 at an average price of $2.05. The sale was made under a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan to cover tax withholding tied to vested equity awards.
• The stock was little changed in trading, rising 0.5% to $2.08, while remaining well below its 50-day average of $2.75. Kosmos has a market cap of about $1.23 billion and a high debt load, with a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.56.
• Analysts remain cautious on KOS, with a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $2.44. Recent earnings also disappointed, as the company reported a loss of $0.07 per share versus expectations for a $0.08 profit.

Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS - Get Free Report) SVP Josh Marion sold 24,969 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.05, for a total transaction of $51,186.45. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 233,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $478,478.20. This represents a 9.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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.

Kosmos Energy Trading Up 0.5%

KOS stock traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $2.08. 14,948,873 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,167,539. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $2.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $2.18. Kosmos Energy Ltd. has a one year low of $0.84 and a one year high of $3.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.56, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.60. The company has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of -1.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 0.71.

Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.07) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.08 by ($0.15). Kosmos Energy had a negative return on equity of 37.60% and a negative net margin of 59.38%.The company had revenue of $370.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $405.21 million. Research analysts predict that Kosmos Energy Ltd. will post 0.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kosmos Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in Kosmos Energy by 93.9% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 28,601 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 13,854 shares during the period. Old Port Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Kosmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new stake in shares of Kosmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Kosmos Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Caerus Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Kosmos Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 95.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on KOS. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Kosmos Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $2.25 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Kosmos Energy from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Johnson Rice raised shares of Kosmos Energy from an "accumulate" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $4.25 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kosmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Mizuho reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $3.00 target price (up from $2.00) on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kosmos Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $2.44.

Key Kosmos Energy News

Here are the key news stories impacting Kosmos Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Kosmos issued an operational update showing strong first-half performance: the new Ghana J76 well is contributing about 20,000 barrels per day, Jubilee exited Q2 above 85,000 bopd, and the company expects J77 to push gross Jubilee production toward 90,000 bopd. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: The company said net debt fell by more than $400 million to about $2.56 billion, with liquidity above $500 million and plans to refinance its reserve-based lending facility, which supports the stock’s recent strength. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: GTA LNG also performed well, with nine cargoes lifted in Q2 at the top end of guidance, reinforcing expectations for solid near-term cash generation. Article title
• Neutral Sentiment: Kosmos completed the sale of its Equatorial Guinea assets to Panoro Energy, a portfolio simplification move that removed about 1,000 bopd from second-quarter guidance but should help the company focus on higher-priority assets. Article title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several executives, including the CEO, CFO, CAO and an SVP, sold shares under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans to cover tax withholding tied to equity awards; these transactions are routine but may still weigh on sentiment. Article title

About Kosmos Energy

Kosmos Energy Ltd. is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Since its founding in 2003, the company has focused on identifying and developing hydrocarbon reserves in frontier and emerging basins around the world. Kosmos combines geological and geophysical expertise with a disciplined approach to acreage acquisition and partner selection to pursue high‐impact offshore exploration opportunities.

The company's portfolio is anchored by assets in West Africa and the Gulf of Mexico.

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