Traders Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS)

Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Investors purchased 4,624 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 117% compared to the average daily volume of 2,135 put options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Kosmos Energy by 32.4% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 78,667 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $317,000 after buying an additional 19,251 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kosmos Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $395,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new stake in shares of Kosmos Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,924,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Kosmos Energy by 3.3% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 257,887 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,429,000 after acquiring an additional 8,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Kosmos Energy by 34.9% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,342,239 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $12,976,000 after acquiring an additional 606,195 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America cut their price target on Kosmos Energy from $8.15 to $7.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $5.00 price objective on the stock. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $8.00 target price on shares of Kosmos Energy in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of Kosmos Energy from $7.00 to $5.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $7.00.

Kosmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of KOS stock opened at $4.51 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $4.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.36. Kosmos Energy has a twelve month low of $3.69 and a twelve month high of $7.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.27, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.73. The company has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.79, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 2.41.

Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.04). Kosmos Energy had a net margin of 13.56% and a return on equity of 40.16%. The firm had revenue of $450.94 million during the quarter. As a group, research analysts predict that Kosmos Energy will post 0.18 EPS for the current year.

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.