Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) Lowered to “Sell” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Tuesday.

Separately, Raymond James began coverage on shares of Natural Gas Services Group in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating and a $27.00 target price for the company.

Natural Gas Services Group Stock Performance

NYSE NGS opened at $24.55 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $306.14 million, a P/E ratio of 23.16 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.34 and a quick ratio of 1.66. Natural Gas Services Group has a 1-year low of $12.75 and a 1-year high of $25.24. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $20.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.60.

Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The oil and gas company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $38.49 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.79 million. Natural Gas Services Group had a return on equity of 5.53% and a net margin of 9.25%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.10 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Natural Gas Services Group will post 1.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Stephen Charles Taylor sold 3,181 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.00, for a total transaction of $69,982.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 548,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,064,514. This trade represents a 0.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold 13,158 shares of company stock worth $303,350 over the last three months. 7.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natural Gas Services Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NGS. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 129.1% in the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 6,325 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 3,564 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Natural Gas Services Group by 54.7% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 8,647 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $165,000 after purchasing an additional 3,056 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Natural Gas Services Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $208,000. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 2,513.0% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 12,072 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 11,610 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Natural Gas Services Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $261,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.