Zacks Research Upgrades Kodiak Gas Services (NYSE:KGS) to "Hold"

Key Points

• Zacks upgraded Kodiak Gas Services from a "strong sell" to a "hold" and the stock carries a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts with a consensus target price of $55.86 after multiple banks raised their price targets into the $60–$69 range.
• Kodiak shares trade near their 52-week high (opened $70.28) with a market cap of $6.04 billion and a rich valuation (P/E ~80.8), a 50-day moving average of $60.00 and a 200-day average of $46.17.
• The most recent quarter showed an EPS miss ($0.40 vs. $0.53 expected) despite revenue rising 7.6% year-over-year, and insiders have recently been net sellers (significant executive sale alongside smaller insider purchases).

Kodiak Gas Services (NYSE:KGS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on KGS. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Kodiak Gas Services from $53.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Kodiak Gas Services from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Kodiak Gas Services from $45.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Kodiak Gas Services from $36.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Kodiak Gas Services from $49.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $55.86.

Kodiak Gas Services Stock Down 1.6%

Kodiak Gas Services stock opened at $70.28 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $6.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.78, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The company's 50-day moving average price is $60.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.17. Kodiak Gas Services has a 52 week low of $30.06 and a 52 week high of $71.92.

Kodiak Gas Services (NYSE:KGS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $332.87 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $330.95 million. Kodiak Gas Services had a net margin of 6.16% and a return on equity of 11.55%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.21 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Kodiak Gas Services will post 2.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Alexander Newsom Darden bought 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $54.75 per share, for a total transaction of $273,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 5,000 shares in the company, valued at $273,750. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Cory Anne Roclawski sold 21,161 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.52, for a total transaction of $1,196,019.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,257 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,388,365.64. The trade was a 33.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 11,433 shares of company stock valued at $624,360 and sold 58,673 shares valued at $3,269,110. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kodiak Gas Services by 52.1% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 364 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kodiak Gas Services by 1,501.3% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,233 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 1,156 shares during the period. State of Wyoming boosted its holdings in shares of Kodiak Gas Services by 201.7% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,219 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 815 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kodiak Gas Services by 80.3% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,248 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 556 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kodiak Gas Services by 80.4% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,449 shares of the company's stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 646 shares during the period. 24.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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. The Other Services segment provides a range of contract services, including station construction, maintenance and overhaul, and other ancillary time and material-based offerings.

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