Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) Upgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $32.00 price target (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Natural Gas Services Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Natural Gas Services Group from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th.

Natural Gas Services Group Stock Up 1.9%

Natural Gas Services Group stock opened at $25.43 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $318.64 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.87 and a beta of 0.53. Natural Gas Services Group has a 52-week low of $16.70 and a 52-week high of $29.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.76. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $20.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.08.

Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The oil and gas company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $41.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.52 million. Natural Gas Services Group had a return on equity of 6.60% and a net margin of 10.55%. Equities analysts predict that Natural Gas Services Group will post 1.42 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Stephen Charles Taylor sold 25,000 shares of Natural Gas Services Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.90, for a total value of $622,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 433,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,790,016.60. The trade was a 5.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 5.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Natural Gas Services Group

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Natural Gas Services Group by 76.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 34,548 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $660,000 after buying an additional 14,974 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Natural Gas Services Group in the fourth quarter worth about $128,000. Inspire Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $890,000. Calamos Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $279,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Natural Gas Services Group by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 93,354 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,502,000 after acquiring an additional 4,497 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.62% of the company’s stock.

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.