StockNews.com Upgrades Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) to Hold

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

Separately, Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $32.00 price target (down from $33.00) on shares of Natural Gas Services Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th.

Natural Gas Services Group Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NGS stock opened at $21.73 on Wednesday. Natural Gas Services Group has a 12-month low of $16.70 and a 12-month high of $29.74. The company has a market capitalization of $271.83 million, a PE ratio of 16.98 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $25.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.02. Natural Gas Services Group had a return on equity of 6.60% and a net margin of 10.55%. The business had revenue of $40.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.84 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.14 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Natural Gas Services Group will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Stephen Charles Taylor sold 19,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.80, for a total transaction of $558,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 438,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,625,545.60. This represents a 4.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 7.25% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natural Gas Services Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NGS. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Natural Gas Services Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,733,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 119.8% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 229,294 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,145,000 after purchasing an additional 124,978 shares during the last quarter. Crown Advisors Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group in the 4th quarter valued at $2,680,000. EAM Investors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group during the 4th quarter worth $1,089,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Natural Gas Services Group during the 4th quarter worth $1,001,000. 65.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Natural Gas Services Group

Natural Gas Services Group, Inc provides natural gas compression equipment and services to the energy industry in the United States. It engineers and fabricates, operates, rents, and maintains natural gas compressors for oil and natural gas production and plant facilities. It also designs, fabricates, and assembles compressor units for rental or sale; and designs, manufactures, and sells a line of reciprocating natural gas compressor frames, cylinders, and parts.