Investors Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS)

Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Traders acquired 4,083 put options on the company. This is an increase of 55% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,642 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on KOS shares. Stephens assumed coverage on Kosmos Energy in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $1.75 price objective for the company. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $1.00 price target (down from $3.40) on shares of Kosmos Energy in a report on Friday, December 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Johnson Rice lowered shares of Kosmos Energy from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $4.50 to $3.50 in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Clarkson Capital initiated coverage on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research note on Friday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $4.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $2.29.

Kosmos Energy Stock Down 4.5%

Shares of KOS stock opened at $0.86 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $1.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.65. Kosmos Energy has a twelve month low of $0.84 and a twelve month high of $4.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.04, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.52. The company has a market capitalization of $413.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.27 and a beta of 0.95.

Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.15) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by ($0.02). Kosmos Energy had a negative net margin of 23.64% and a negative return on equity of 26.28%. The company had revenue of $310.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $360.82 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Kosmos Energy will post 0.42 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Kosmos Energy by 220.1% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,917,488 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,372,000 after purchasing an additional 1,318,383 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Kosmos Energy by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 271,790 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $620,000 after buying an additional 17,885 shares during the last quarter. Huber Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Kosmos Energy by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Huber Capital Management LLC now owns 231,900 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $529,000 after buying an additional 17,000 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC bought a new position in Kosmos Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Nantahala Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kosmos Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $3,914,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.33% of the company’s stock.

Kosmos Energy Company Profile

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.