Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) Trading Down 7.6% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS) were down 7.6% on Thursday after The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded the stock from a neutral rating to a sell rating. The Goldman Sachs Group now has a $2.25 price target on the stock. Kosmos Energy traded as low as $2.54 and last traded at $2.56. Approximately 13,947,406 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 48% from the average daily volume of 26,655,258 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.77.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Johnson Rice upgraded Kosmos Energy from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $4.25 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Kosmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Mizuho cut their price target on Kosmos Energy from $2.00 to $1.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on Kosmos Energy from $1.70 to $0.80 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kosmos Energy has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $2.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kosmos Energy news, Director Adebayo O. Ogunlesi bought 3,157,895 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $1.90 per share, for a total transaction of $6,000,000.50. Following the purchase, the director owned 4,974,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,450,949.60. This trade represents a 173.87% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Nealesh D. Shah bought 157,894 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $1.90 per share, for a total transaction of $299,998.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 1,863,061 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,539,815.90. The trade was a 9.26% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 3,684,210 shares of company stock worth $6,999,999 and have sold 272,844 shares worth $377,592. 1.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kosmos Energy

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kosmos Energy by 333.0% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 3,221,011 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $5,540,000 after buying an additional 2,477,102 shares during the period. M&G PLC raised its position in Kosmos Energy by 38.3% in the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 7,978,144 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $13,244,000 after acquiring an additional 2,210,302 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its position in Kosmos Energy by 34.1% in the third quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,747,831 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,561,000 after acquiring an additional 698,740 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its position in Kosmos Energy by 40.5% in the third quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 738,806 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,226,000 after acquiring an additional 212,970 shares during the period. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. raised its holdings in Kosmos Energy by 236.6% in the 3rd quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 161,920 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 113,812 shares during the period. 95.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kosmos Energy Trading Down 6.9%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $2.25 and a 200 day moving average of $1.64. The company has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.77, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.53, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) last announced its earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.16) EPS for the quarter. Kosmos Energy had a negative return on equity of 39.29% and a negative net margin of 54.18%.The company had revenue of $294.62 million during the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Kosmos Energy Ltd. will post 0.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.