Kodiak Gas Services, Inc. (NYSE:KGS) Short Interest Down 27.5% in July

Key Points

• Kodiak Gas Services experienced a significant drop in short interest of 27.5% from July 15th to July 31st, reducing the total shares shorted to 5,390,000.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, with a 5.0% yield, and initiated a stock buyback program authorizing $50 million to repurchase shares.
• According to Wall Street analysts, Kodiak Gas Services holds a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a price target averaging $41.10 per share.

Kodiak Gas Services, Inc. (NYSE:KGS - Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 5,390,000 shares, adropof27.5% from the July 15th total of 7,430,000 shares. Approximately10.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,340,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.0 days. Based on an average daily volume of 1,340,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.0 days. Approximately10.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on KGS. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Kodiak Gas Services from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "buy" rating and issued a $43.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of Kodiak Gas Services in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Kodiak Gas Services from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Kodiak Gas Services from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $41.10.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kodiak Gas Services

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tyler Stone Wealth Management bought a new position in Kodiak Gas Services during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,068,000. FORA Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Kodiak Gas Services in the second quarter worth about $499,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of Kodiak Gas Services by 37.0% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,779 shares of the company's stock worth $267,000 after acquiring an additional 2,100 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in shares of Kodiak Gas Services by 2.7% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 16,925 shares of the company's stock worth $580,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc raised its stake in shares of Kodiak Gas Services by 222.1% in the second quarter. Man Group plc now owns 175,909 shares of the company's stock worth $6,028,000 after acquiring an additional 121,298 shares during the last quarter. 24.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kodiak Gas Services Price Performance

KGS stock traded down $0.1260 during trading on Friday, hitting $35.8040. 1,278,994 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,154,585. Kodiak Gas Services has a one year low of $25.21 and a one year high of $50.43. The stock has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.78 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89.

Kodiak Gas Services (NYSE:KGS - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Kodiak Gas Services had a net margin of 6.48% and a return on equity of 10.35%. The firm had revenue of $322.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $335.10 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.06 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Kodiak Gas Services will post 1.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kodiak Gas Services declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, August 11th that permits the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 1.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Kodiak Gas Services Dividend Announcement

The company 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 4th. Kodiak Gas Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 200.00%.

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.