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

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) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 5,390,000 shares, adecreaseof27.5% from the July 15th total of 7,430,000 shares. Approximately10.0% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,340,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.0 days. Based on an average trading volume of 1,340,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.0 days. Approximately10.0% of the company's shares are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Kodiak Gas Services by 4.6% in the second quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 8,180 shares of the company's stock worth $280,000 after buying an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank lifted its stake in shares of Kodiak Gas Services by 40.0% in the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 1,554 shares of the company's stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted 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 buying an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. United Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kodiak Gas Services by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. United Advisor Group LLC now owns 12,281 shares of the company's stock worth $501,000 after buying an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kodiak Gas Services by 4.3% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 14,804 shares of the company's stock worth $507,000 after buying an additional 608 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 24.95% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on KGS. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Kodiak Gas Services from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $43.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of Kodiak Gas Services in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Kodiak Gas Services from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Kodiak Gas Services from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $41.10.

Kodiak Gas Services Stock Down 4.1%

KGS traded down $1.4550 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $34.3450. The company's stock had a trading volume of 321,457 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,221,739. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.23 and a beta of 1.33. 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 has a 1 year low of $25.21 and a 1 year high of $50.43. The stock's 50-day moving average is $33.27 and its 200-day moving average is $35.64.

Kodiak Gas Services (NYSE:KGS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $322.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $335.10 million. Kodiak Gas Services had a net margin of 6.48% and a return on equity of 10.35%. The business's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.06 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Kodiak Gas Services will post 1.12 EPS for the current year.

Kodiak Gas Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. Kodiak Gas Services's dividend payout ratio is 200.00%.

Kodiak Gas Services announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, August 11th that allows the company to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 1.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Kodiak Gas Services Company Profile

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.