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

Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 14,718 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 359% compared to the average volume of 3,205 put options.

Kosmos Energy Trading Up 1.5 %

Kosmos Energy stock opened at $2.31 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $3.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3.57. Kosmos Energy has a 52-week low of $2.07 and a 52-week high of $6.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.24, a PEG ratio of 5.24 and a beta of 2.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25.

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

Insider Transactions at Kosmos Energy

In related news, SVP Josh R. Marion sold 16,144 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.12, for a total value of $50,369.28. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 172,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $536,817.84. This represents a 8.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew G. Inglis sold 138,689 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.12, for a total value of $432,709.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,959,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,352,080. This represents a 3.38 % decrease in their position. 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 three months. 2.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kosmos Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KOS. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Kosmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,723,000. Patient Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kosmos Energy by 81.6% during the fourth quarter. Patient Capital Management LLC now owns 17,147,729 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $58,645,000 after acquiring an additional 7,707,707 shares in the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC boosted its position in Kosmos Energy by 22.1% during the fourth quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 32,627,567 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $111,586,000 after purchasing an additional 5,906,210 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position in Kosmos Energy by 28.1% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 18,743,734 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $64,104,000 after purchasing an additional 4,114,499 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Equinox Partners Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Kosmos Energy by 39.2% during the 4th quarter. Equinox Partners Investment Management LLC now owns 11,421,895 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $39,063,000 after purchasing an additional 3,218,394 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on KOS shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Kosmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Benchmark downgraded Kosmos Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Kosmos Energy from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $5.60 target price on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kosmos Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.52.

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.