Short Interest in Kodiak Gas Services, Inc. (NYSE:KGS) Expands By 56.2%

Key Points

• Short interest in Kodiak Gas Services increased by 56.2% in August, totaling 8,420,000 shares and reflecting 15.1% of the company's shares sold short.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for KGS, with estimates now ranging from $36.00 to $47.00, and a consensus price target of $41.30.
• Kodiak recently announced a $1.80 annualized dividend with a yield of 5.1% and initiated a $50 million share repurchase plan to buy back up to 1.8% of its outstanding shares.

Kodiak Gas Services, Inc. (NYSE:KGS - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 8,420,000 shares, a growth of 56.2% from the July 31st total of 5,390,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,420,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.9 days. Currently, 15.1% of the company's shares are sold short. Currently, 15.1% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,420,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.9 days.

Kodiak Gas Services Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:KGS traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $33.43. The company had a trading volume of 515,046 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,296,142. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. The business's 50 day moving average price is $33.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.79. The stock has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a PE ratio of 37.07 and a beta of 1.34. Kodiak Gas Services has a 1-year low of $26.12 and a 1-year high of $50.43.

Kodiak Gas Services (NYSE:KGS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $322.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $335.10 million. Kodiak Gas Services had a return on equity of 10.35% and a net margin of 6.48%.Kodiak Gas Services's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.06 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Kodiak Gas Services will post 1.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kodiak Gas Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 4th. Kodiak Gas Services's payout ratio is 200.00%.

Kodiak Gas Services declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, August 11th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 1.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kodiak Gas Services

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Kodiak Gas Services by 59.9% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,869,346 shares of the company's stock valued at $166,872,000 after buying an additional 1,824,407 shares during the period. Zimmer Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Kodiak Gas Services by 88.1% in the fourth quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 3,347,700 shares of the company's stock valued at $136,687,000 after buying an additional 1,567,849 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kodiak Gas Services in the first quarter valued at approximately $40,648,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kodiak Gas Services by 58.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,983,360 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,979,000 after buying an additional 730,180 shares during the period. Finally, Merewether Investment Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Kodiak Gas Services by 259.4% in the fourth quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP now owns 934,499 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,156,000 after buying an additional 674,499 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 24.95% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Kodiak Gas Services from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Zacks Research lowered Kodiak Gas Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays lifted their target price on Kodiak Gas Services from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $43.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Kodiak Gas Services in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Kodiak Gas Services from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $41.30.

Kodiak Gas Services Company Profile

Kodiak Gas Services, Inc operates contract compression infrastructure for customers in the oil and gas industry in the United States. It operates in two segments, Compression Operations and Other Services. The Compression Operations segment operates company-owned and customer-owned compression infrastructure to enable the production, gathering, and transportation of natural gas and oil.