Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) Shares Up 7.7% - Still a Buy?

Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 7.7% on Friday . The company traded as high as $1.88 and last traded at $1.90. 1,214,465 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 8,668,028 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.76.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho dropped their target price on Kosmos Energy from $4.00 to $3.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Kosmos Energy to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Kosmos Energy from $3.50 to $3.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kosmos Energy presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $4.93.

Kosmos Energy Stock Performance

The firm's 50-day moving average price is $1.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $2.62. The company has a market cap of $944.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.49, a PEG ratio of 5.24 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.22) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $290.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $338.23 million. Kosmos Energy had a net margin of 12.21% and a return on equity of 31.08%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kosmos Energy Ltd. will post 0.42 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John Douglas Kelso Grant sold 27,923 shares of the company's 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 29,921 shares in the company, valued at $54,157.01. This represents a 48.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.99% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Kosmos Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Kosmos Energy by 54.7% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 21,037 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 7,442 shares in the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kosmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its stake in Kosmos Energy by 33.2% in the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 536,870 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,836,000 after acquiring an additional 133,704 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Kosmos Energy by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 171,852 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $588,000 after buying an additional 6,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Kosmos Energy by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,131,142 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $7,289,000 after buying an additional 86,692 shares during the last quarter. 95.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.