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

Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 14,718 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 359% compared to the average daily volume of 3,205 put options.

Kosmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KOS traded up $0.06 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $2.33. 7,849,329 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,666,083. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.47. Kosmos Energy has a 1 year low of $2.07 and a 1 year high of $6.58. The company has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.31, a PEG ratio of 5.24 and a beta of 2.31. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $3.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $3.58.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Andrew G. Inglis sold 102,701 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.12, for a total transaction of $320,427.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,236,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,218,475.92. This represents a 2.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing 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 value 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. This trade represents a 8.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 503,970 shares of company stock worth $1,572,386 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.02% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kosmos Energy

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on KOS shares. StockNews.com downgraded Kosmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $5.60 price objective on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Benchmark downgraded shares of Kosmos Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Kosmos Energy from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. One 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kosmos Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.