Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday.

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

Natural Gas Services Group Price Performance

Shares of Natural Gas Services Group stock traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $18.70. The company had a trading volume of 72,306 shares, compared to its average volume of 74,590. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.96. Natural Gas Services Group has a 1-year low of $16.70 and a 1-year high of $29.74. The company has a market capitalization of $233.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.61 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Insider Transactions at Natural Gas Services Group

In related news, Director Stephen Charles Taylor sold 19,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.80, for a total transaction of $558,720.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 438,387 shares in the company, valued at $12,625,545.60. This trade represents a 4.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 7.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natural Gas Services Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its position in Natural Gas Services Group by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 266,508 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,142,000 after purchasing an additional 3,797 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its position in Natural Gas Services Group by 119.8% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 229,294 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,145,000 after acquiring an additional 124,978 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Natural Gas Services Group in the fourth quarter valued at $5,733,000. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 162,646 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,108,000 after acquiring an additional 26,069 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 138,620 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,715,000 after purchasing an additional 16,654 shares during the last quarter. 65.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Natural Gas Services Group Company Profile

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.