Kodiak Gas Services, Inc. (NYSE:KGS) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Kodiak Gas Services, Inc. (NYSE:KGS) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,710,000 shares, an increase of 24.6% from the February 28th total of 3,780,000 shares. Approximately 9.4% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,150,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.1 days.

Kodiak Gas Services Price Performance

Shares of KGS stock traded up $1.10 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $38.73. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 694,882 shares, compared to its average volume of 743,617. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $41.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.60. The company has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 133.56 and a beta of 1.30. Kodiak Gas Services has a 1-year low of $24.84 and a 1-year high of $50.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Kodiak Gas Services (NYSE:KGS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 5th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.15). Kodiak Gas Services had a return on equity of 7.91% and a net margin of 2.23%. The firm had revenue of $309.52 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $323.82 million. On average, research analysts predict that Kodiak Gas Services will post 1.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Kodiak Gas Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.23%. Kodiak Gas Services’s dividend payout ratio is 277.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays lowered their target price on Kodiak Gas Services from $44.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 21st. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Kodiak Gas Services from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $45.00 target price on shares of Kodiak Gas Services and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Kodiak Gas Services in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Kodiak Gas Services from $41.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kodiak Gas Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.91.

Insider Transactions at Kodiak Gas Services

In other Kodiak Gas Services news, major shareholder Frontier Topco Partnership, L. sold 3,728,677 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.50, for a total transaction of $177,112,157.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,771,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,651,637,842.50. This trade represents a 9.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kodiak Gas Services

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Kodiak Gas Services by 94.7% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 703 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank raised its stake in shares of Kodiak Gas Services by 710.1% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 721 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Kodiak Gas Services by 1,322.6% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 754 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 701 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank increased its holdings in shares of Kodiak Gas Services by 112.6% in the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 1,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 588 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kodiak Gas Services during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.95% of the company’s stock.

About Kodiak Gas Services

Kodiak Gas Services, Inc operates contract compression infrastructure for customers in the oil and gas industry in the United States. It operates in two segments, Compression Operations and Other Services. The Compression Operations segment operates company-owned and customer-owned compression infrastructure to enable the production, gathering, and transportation of natural gas and oil.