Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) Sets New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade
by Kim Johansen · The Markets DailyNatural Gas Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:NGS – Get Free Report)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday after Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on the stock from $39.00 to $44.00. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock. Natural Gas Services Group traded as high as $40.73 and last traded at $39.8710, with a volume of 43572 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $39.48.
Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Natural Gas Services Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $34.00 to $42.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Zacks Research cut Natural Gas Services Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Natural Gas Services Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.00.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Natural Gas Services Group
Insider Buying and Selling at Natural Gas Services Group
In other news, Director Stephen Charles Taylor sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.23, for a total value of $1,116,900.00. Following the sale, the director owned 175,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,531,333.36. This represents a 14.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 5.08% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NGS. Weber Capital Management LLC ADV purchased a new position in Natural Gas Services Group during the 4th quarter valued at $16,777,000. Cannell Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 279.3% in the second quarter. Cannell Capital LLC now owns 331,616 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $8,559,000 after purchasing an additional 244,193 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC purchased a new position in Natural Gas Services Group in the 4th quarter worth about $3,591,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Natural Gas Services Group by 133.7% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 169,023 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,731,000 after buying an additional 96,690 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Natural Gas Services Group by 151.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 153,361 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,958,000 after buying an additional 92,444 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.62% of the company’s stock.
Natural Gas Services Group Trading Down 0.3%
The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $36.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.90. The company has a market capitalization of $495.73 million, a PE ratio of 25.17 and a beta of 0.34.
Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, March 16th. The oil and gas company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.05). Natural Gas Services Group had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 11.56%.The company had revenue of $46.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.81 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. will post 1.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Natural Gas Services Group Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 18th. Natural Gas Services Group’s payout ratio is 28.03%.
Natural Gas Services Group Company Profile
Natural Gas Services Group, Inc (NYSE: NGS) is an energy infrastructure company specializing in natural gas distribution and compression services across the United States. The company operates two primary lines of business: the Distribution segment provides natural gas delivery to residential, commercial and industrial customers, while the Compression Services segment rents, sells and services a diversified fleet of compression equipment for midstream and industrial applications.
In its Distribution segment, Natural Gas Services Group engineers, constructs and maintains local pipeline networks, meters and related apparatus to ensure safe and reliable natural gas supply to municipal utilities and private customers.