Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) Shares Down 6% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Kosmos Energy shares fell about 6% on Wednesday, trading as low as $2.34 after closing at $2.50 the prior day, on much lighter-than-normal volume.
• Analysts remain cautious on the stock: the consensus rating is now “Reduce,” with a consensus target price of $2.44, and several firms have recently downgraded or kept underperform/sell views.
• Recent fundamentals were weak, as the company missed Q1 earnings and revenue estimates, while insider selling and a high debt-to-equity ratio add to investor concerns.

Shares of Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS - Get Free Report) fell 6% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $2.34 and last traded at $2.35. Approximately 2,809,730 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 21,115,553 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.50.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KOS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Mizuho reissued an "underperform" rating and issued a $3.00 price objective (up from $2.00) on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Kosmos Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $2.25 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded shares of Kosmos Energy to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Johnson Rice upgraded shares of Kosmos Energy from an "accumulate" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $4.25 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kosmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Kosmos Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $2.44.

Kosmos Energy Stock Down 7.6%

The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a PE ratio of -1.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 0.71. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $2.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.25.

Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.07) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.08 by ($0.15). Kosmos Energy had a negative net margin of 59.38% and a negative return on equity of 37.60%. The firm had revenue of $370.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $405.21 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Kosmos Energy Ltd. will post 0.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Kosmos Energy

In other news, CFO Nealesh D. Shah sold 45,980 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.05, for a total value of $94,259.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,935,410 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,967,590.50. This represents a 2.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Steven Sterin sold 38,636 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.73, for a total value of $105,476.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 331,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $904,435.35. This represents a 10.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 294,580 shares of company stock worth $689,275. Company insiders own 1.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Kosmos Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KOS. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 13,854 shares during the period. Old Port Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Kosmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new position in shares of Kosmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Kosmos Energy during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Caerus Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kosmos Energy during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. 95.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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