Kodiak Gas Services, Inc. (NYSE:KGS) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts remain broadly positive: Eleven brokerages assign Kodiak Gas Services a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, with nine buys and two holds. The average 12-month price target is $79.50, versus the reported share price of $57.69.
• Quarterly results exceeded expectations: Kodiak reported earnings of $0.59 per share versus the $0.54 consensus estimate and revenue of $345.76 million, up 4.9% year over year.
• Investors receive a dividend, but leverage is notable: The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.49 per share, representing a 3.4% annualized yield, while its debt-to-equity ratio stands at 2.38. Institutional investors own 24.95% of the stock, although insiders sold shares in the past three months.

Shares of Kodiak Gas Services, Inc. (NYSE:KGS - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $79.50.

KGS has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Kodiak Gas Services from $69.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Kodiak Gas Services from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Kodiak Gas Services from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Kodiak Gas Services in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $93.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Kodiak Gas Services in a report on Thursday, June 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $79.00 price objective on the stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kodiak Gas Services

In other Kodiak Gas Services news, COO William Chad Lenamon sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.79, for a total value of $67,790.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 87,294 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,917,660.26. This represents a 1.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Ewan William Hamilton sold 2,729 shares of Kodiak Gas Services stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.62, for a total value of $187,263.98. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 31,617 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,169,558.54. The trade was a 7.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 13,523 shares of company stock valued at $921,319 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Kodiak Gas Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KGS. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Kodiak Gas Services by 20.4% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,593,274 shares of the company's stock valued at $283,988,000 after acquiring an additional 1,287,485 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kodiak Gas Services by 33.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,170,360 shares of the company's stock worth $230,771,000 after purchasing an additional 1,559,172 shares during the period. Zimmer Partners LP grew its stake in shares of Kodiak Gas Services by 45.7% during the 4th quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 4,271,553 shares of the company's stock worth $159,756,000 after purchasing an additional 1,339,849 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Kodiak Gas Services by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,340,008 shares of the company's stock valued at $124,916,000 after purchasing an additional 806,191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Kodiak Gas Services by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,105,555 shares of the company's stock valued at $181,108,000 after purchasing an additional 135,998 shares in the last quarter. 24.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kodiak Gas Services Stock Performance

Shares of KGS opened at $57.69 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $68.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.71. Kodiak Gas Services has a one year low of $30.06 and a one year high of $77.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market cap of $5.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.89.

Kodiak Gas Services (NYSE:KGS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $345.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $340.23 million. Kodiak Gas Services had a return on equity of 13.12% and a net margin of 5.13%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.33 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Kodiak Gas Services will post 2.27 EPS for the current year.

Kodiak Gas Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Kodiak Gas Services's payout ratio is currently 264.86%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.