Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Kosmos Energy Ltd. has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with three recommending holds and three recommending buys.
• The stock's 12-month average price target is $4.93, with recent price adjustments from major firms indicating a reduction in price targets to between $3.00 and $3.50.
• Institutional investors hold 95.33% of Kosmos Energy's stock, indicating significant backing from large financial entities.

Shares of Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $4.9333.

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Benchmark reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Kosmos Energy in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kosmos Energy to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Kosmos Energy from $4.00 to $3.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Kosmos Energy from $3.50 to $3.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 19th.

Kosmos Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:KOS traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $1.83. 6,109,883 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,221,092. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $1.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $2.05. Kosmos Energy has a 12 month low of $1.39 and a 12 month high of $5.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $872.81 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.53 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.56.

Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.19) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.06) by ($0.13). Kosmos Energy had a negative net margin of 10.74% and a negative return on equity of 14.16%. The company had revenue of $393.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $444.26 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Kosmos Energy will post 0.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kosmos Energy news, Director John Douglas Kelso Grant sold 27,923 shares of Kosmos Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.81, for a total value of $50,540.63. Following the transaction, the director owned 29,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $54,157.01. The trade was a 48.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.02% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Kosmos Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Kosmos Energy by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 19,711 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 3,932 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Kosmos Energy by 17.0% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 45,840 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 6,649 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Kosmos Energy by 34.1% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 27,089 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 6,888 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kosmos Energy by 3.6% in the first quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 217,450 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $496,000 after purchasing an additional 7,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its position in shares of Kosmos Energy by 53.2% in the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 24,103 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 8,371 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.33% of the company's stock.

Kosmos Energy Company Profile

Kosmos Energy Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas along the Atlantic Margins in the United States. The company's primary assets include production projects located in offshore Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, and the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, as well as gas projects located in offshore Mauritania and Senegal.