Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Analyst downgrade: Wall Street Zen cut Kosmos Energy from "hold" to "sell," and the MarketBeat consensus is "Reduce" with a $2.22 average price target after several firms (including Goldman Sachs and Weiss) trimmed ratings or targets.
• Weak fundamentals: The company reported -$0.16 EPS with a negative net margin (54.18%) and ROE (-39.29%), trades near $2.81, and shows high leverage and low liquidity (debt/equity 5.53; current ratio 0.75; quick ratio 0.45).
• Insider and institutional activity: The CFO recently purchased 157,894 shares and insiders were net buyers (~3.68M shares acquired over 90 days), while institutional investors own about 95% of the stock.

Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on KOS. Johnson Rice upgraded shares of Kosmos Energy from an "accumulate" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $4.25 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Kosmos Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $2.25 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on shares of Kosmos Energy from $1.70 to $0.80 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $2.22.

Kosmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of KOS opened at $2.81 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average is $2.51 and its 200-day moving average is $1.71. Kosmos Energy has a 12 month low of $0.84 and a 12 month high of $3.17. The firm has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.53.

Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Kosmos Energy had a negative net margin of 54.18% and a negative return on equity of 39.29%. The firm had revenue of $294.62 million during the quarter. Equities analysts expect that Kosmos Energy will post 0.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kosmos Energy news, SVP Josh R. Marion sold 19,656 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.37, for a total value of $26,928.72. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 197,409 shares in the company, valued at $270,450.33. This trade represents a 9.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Nealesh D. Shah purchased 157,894 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $1.90 per share, for a total transaction of $299,998.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,863,061 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,539,815.90. The trade was a 9.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 3,684,210 shares of company stock worth $6,999,999 and sold 272,844 shares worth $377,592. Company insiders own 1.99% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Kosmos Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in Kosmos Energy by 93.9% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 28,601 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 13,854 shares during the last quarter. Old Port Advisors acquired a new stake in Kosmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new stake in Kosmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its position in Kosmos Energy by 35.7% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 42,577 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 11,209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in Kosmos Energy by 41.0% in the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 24,634 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 7,169 shares during the last quarter. 95.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kosmos Energy Company Profile

Kosmos Energy Ltd. is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Since its founding in 2003, the company has focused on identifying and developing hydrocarbon reserves in frontier and emerging basins around the world. Kosmos combines geological and geophysical expertise with a disciplined approach to acreage acquisition and partner selection to pursue high‐impact offshore exploration opportunities.

The company's portfolio is anchored by assets in West Africa and the Gulf of Mexico.

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