Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) Stock Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:NGS) shares passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $26.32 and traded as high as $31.58. Natural Gas Services Group shares last traded at $31.2380, with a volume of 58,545 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Natural Gas Services Group Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $28.28 and its 200 day moving average is $26.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $392.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.00 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The oil and gas company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $43.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.25 million. Natural Gas Services Group had a net margin of 10.92% and a return on equity of 7.21%. On average, 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This is a positive change from Natural Gas Services Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. Natural Gas Services Group’s dividend payout ratio is 29.73%.

Natural Gas Services Group announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, August 11th that permits the company to buyback $6.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jean K. Holley purchased 3,752 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $26.58 per share, with a total value of $99,728.16. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 7,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,324. This trade represents a 92.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen Charles Taylor sold 11,457 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.95, for a total value of $320,223.15. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 385,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,772,824.40. The trade was a 2.89% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 61,252 shares of company stock worth $1,740,298. Insiders own 5.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Natural Gas Services Group by 105.5% in the second 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. White Pine Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 1.5% in the second quarter. White Pine Capital LLC now owns 52,623 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,358,000 after buying an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 15,930 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 871 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 92,394 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,586,000 after acquiring an additional 1,151 shares during the last quarter. 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.