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

Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 14,718 put options on the company. This is an increase of 359% compared to the average volume of 3,205 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KOS. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Kosmos Energy from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $5.60 price target on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Benchmark lowered shares of Kosmos Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut 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 given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kosmos Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $5.52.

Insider Activity at Kosmos Energy

In related news, 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 transaction of $432,709.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,959,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,352,080. The trade was a 3.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ronald W. Glass sold 16,182 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.12, for a total value of $50,487.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 320,231 shares in the company, valued at $999,120.72. This trade represents a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 503,970 shares of company stock valued at $1,572,386. Corporate insiders own 2.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Kosmos Energy by 215.1% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 451,780 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,545,000 after purchasing an additional 308,409 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in shares of Kosmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $490,000. GTS Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kosmos Energy by 548.4% in the 4th quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 151,432 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $518,000 after acquiring an additional 128,076 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kosmos Energy by 23.2% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,097,622 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $7,174,000 after acquiring an additional 395,283 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wexford Capital LP bought a new stake in Kosmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $109,000. 95.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kosmos Energy Stock Performance

NYSE KOS opened at $2.31 on Thursday. Kosmos Energy has a twelve month low of $2.07 and a twelve month high of $6.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25. The stock has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.24, a PEG ratio of 5.24 and a beta of 2.31. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $3.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.57.

Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Kosmos Energy will post 0.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Kosmos Energy

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.