Kosmos Energy Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:KOS)

Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Traders bought 14,718 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 359% compared to the typical daily volume of 3,205 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on KOS. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $5.60 target price on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Kosmos Energy from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Benchmark lowered shares of Kosmos Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kosmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $5.52.

Kosmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Kosmos Energy stock opened at $2.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.24 and a beta of 2.31. The business has a 50-day moving average of $2.98 and a 200 day moving average of $3.56. Kosmos Energy has a 12 month low of $2.07 and a 12 month high of $6.58.

Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $397.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $387.60 million. Kosmos Energy had a net margin of 12.21% and a return on equity of 31.08%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Kosmos Energy will post 0.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Kosmos Energy

In related news, CAO Ronald W. Glass sold 10,354 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.12, for a total transaction of $32,304.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 299,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $934,433.76. This trade represents a 3.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Josh R. Marion sold 16,144 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.12, for a total transaction of $50,369.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 172,057 shares in the company, valued at $536,817.84. The trade was a 8.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 503,970 shares of company stock worth $1,572,386 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kosmos Energy

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Kosmos Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kosmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Disciplined Investors L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Kosmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kosmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. acquired a new stake in Kosmos Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.33% of the company’s stock.

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.