Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) Downgraded to "Sell" Rating by The Goldman Sachs Group

Key Points

• The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Kosmos Energy from "neutral" to "sell" and set a $2.25 price target, implying roughly a 19% downside from the prior close.
• Market consensus is a "Reduce" rating with a $2.22 average price target; the stock opened at $2.78 (down ~8.3%), and the company reports negative EPS and margins (ROE -39.29%, net margin -54.18%) with a high debt-to-equity ratio of 5.53.
• Notable insider and institutional activity: Director Adebayo Ogunlesi purchased 3,157,895 shares (~$6.0M) increasing his stake ~174%, insiders were net buyers (~3.68M shares) over three months, and institutions own about 95.33% of the stock.

Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued on Thursday. They currently have a $2.25 price objective on the oil and gas producer's stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's price objective would indicate a potential downside of 19.06% from the company's previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on KOS. Wall Street Zen upgraded Kosmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Kosmos Energy from $2.00 to $1.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on Kosmos Energy from $1.70 to $0.80 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Johnson Rice raised shares of Kosmos Energy from an "accumulate" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $4.25 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $2.22.

Kosmos Energy Trading Down 8.3%

NYSE KOS opened at $2.78 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a PE ratio of -1.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a fifty day moving average of $2.25 and a 200 day moving average of $1.64. Kosmos Energy has a 1 year low of $0.84 and a 1 year high of $3.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.53, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.16) earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $294.62 million for the quarter. Kosmos Energy had a negative return on equity of 39.29% and a negative net margin of 54.18%. Research analysts forecast that Kosmos Energy will post 0.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Josh R. Marion sold 19,656 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 197,409 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $270,450.33. The trade was a 9.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Adebayo O. Ogunlesi acquired 3,157,895 shares of Kosmos Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $1.90 per share, with a total value of $6,000,000.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,974,184 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,450,949.60. This trade represents a 173.87% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders bought 3,684,210 shares of company stock valued at $6,999,999 and sold 272,844 shares valued at $377,592. 1.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kosmos Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Equinox Partners Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Kosmos Energy by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Equinox Partners Investment Management LLC now owns 19,469,980 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $17,667,000 after purchasing an additional 1,689,500 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Kosmos Energy by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,320,597 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $23,772,000 after buying an additional 286,593 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Kosmos Energy by 19.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,045,593 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $10,930,000 after buying an additional 1,962,936 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Kosmos Energy by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,272,318 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $10,230,000 after buying an additional 832,029 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Kosmos Energy by 3.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,903,093 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $16,439,000 after acquiring an additional 289,626 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.33% of the company's stock.

About Kosmos Energy

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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