Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) Stock Price Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:NGS) passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $27.50 and traded as high as $34.02. Natural Gas Services Group shares last traded at $33.4560, with a volume of 54,983 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on NGS. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Natural Gas Services Group in a report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Natural Gas Services Group from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Natural Gas Services Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Natural Gas Services Group presently has an average rating of “Strong Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.50.

Natural Gas Services Group Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $420.54 million, a P/E ratio of 22.61 and a beta of 0.37. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $30.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.83.

Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The oil and gas company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.13. Natural Gas Services Group had a return on equity of 7.37% and a net margin of 11.20%.The company had revenue of $43.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.25 million. On average, research analysts predict that Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. will post 1.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Natural Gas Services Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 20th. This is an increase from Natural Gas Services Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Natural Gas Services Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Stephen Charles Taylor sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.16, for a total transaction of $331,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 285,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,464,925.12. This represents a 3.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jean K. Holley bought 2,190 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $32.04 per share, for a total transaction of $70,167.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 14,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $461,055.60. This represents a 17.95% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 51,252 shares of company stock valued at $1,604,077. Insiders own 5.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natural Gas Services Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NGS. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 105.5% during the 2nd quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,424 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 731 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its position in Natural Gas Services Group by 106.7% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 3,100 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the period. State of Wyoming boosted its stake in Natural Gas Services Group by 116.0% during the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 4,427 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 2,377 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in Natural Gas Services Group in the 1st quarter valued at $115,000. Finally, Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC bought a new stake in Natural Gas Services Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $218,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.62% of the company’s stock.

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.