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

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: Nine brokerages give Kodiak Gas Services a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" (7 buys, 1 hold, 1 sell) with an average 12‑month target of $54.57, and notable upgrades from RBC (to $64) and Goldman Sachs (to $60).
• Insider selling: Company insiders sold a net large amount in the past 90 days (58,673 shares sold vs. 11,433 bought), including sizable disposals by Pedro R. Buhigas and EVP Cory Anne Roclawski, leaving insiders with just 0.64% ownership.
• Fundamentals and dividend: Kodiak missed quarterly EPS ($0.40 vs. $0.53 estimate) despite 7.6% revenue growth, pays a $0.49 quarterly dividend (3.1% yield) with a 225% payout ratio, and shows stretched liquidity and leverage metrics (current ratio 0.84, debt/equity 2.12).

Shares of Kodiak Gas Services, Inc. (NYSE:KGS - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $54.5714.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on KGS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Kodiak Gas Services from $45.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Kodiak Gas Services in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research cut shares of Kodiak Gas Services from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Kodiak Gas Services from $46.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Kodiak Gas Services from $36.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kodiak Gas Services news, insider Pedro R. Buhigas sold 13,942 shares of Kodiak Gas Services stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.73, for a total value of $776,987.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 42,723 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,380,952.79. The trade was a 24.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Cory Anne Roclawski sold 21,161 shares of Kodiak Gas Services stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.52, for a total transaction of $1,196,019.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,257 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,388,365.64. The trade was a 33.37% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have bought 11,433 shares of company stock valued at $624,360 and have sold 58,673 shares valued at $3,269,110. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Kodiak Gas Services

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Kodiak Gas Services by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 23,640 shares of the company's stock valued at $884,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. United Advisor Group LLC grew its position in shares of Kodiak Gas Services by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. United Advisor Group LLC now owns 15,817 shares of the company's stock valued at $592,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the period. Comerica Bank grew its position in shares of Kodiak Gas Services by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 20,499 shares of the company's stock valued at $767,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Kodiak Gas Services by 52.1% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the period. Finally, Aurora Investment Counsel grew its position in shares of Kodiak Gas Services by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 67,192 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,513,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.95% of the company's stock.

Kodiak Gas Services Trading Up 1.6%

NYSE:KGS opened at $63.26 on Friday. Kodiak Gas Services has a 12 month low of $30.06 and a 12 month high of $63.62. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The company has a market capitalization of $5.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.71, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.96.

Kodiak Gas Services (NYSE:KGS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.13). Kodiak Gas Services had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 6.16%.The company had revenue of $332.87 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $330.95 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.21 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Kodiak Gas Services will post 1.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Kodiak Gas Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Kodiak Gas Services's payout ratio is presently 225.29%.

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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