Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:NGS) Short Interest Update

Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:NGS - Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 126,500 shares, a drop of 17.6% from the October 15th total of 153,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 49,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NGS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Natural Gas Services Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday. Raymond James started coverage on Natural Gas Services Group in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $27.00 target price on the stock.

Natural Gas Services Group Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of NGS traded up $0.63 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $25.02. 106,744 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 65,408. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 2.34. The firm has a market cap of $312.00 million, a P/E ratio of 23.16 and a beta of 1.03. Natural Gas Services Group has a 52-week low of $12.75 and a 52-week high of $25.24. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.60.

Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The oil and gas company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $38.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $36.79 million. Natural Gas Services Group had a net margin of 9.25% and a return on equity of 5.53%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.10 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Natural Gas Services Group will post 1.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Natural Gas Services Group news, Director Stephen Charles Taylor sold 3,096 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.50, for a total value of $75,852.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 545,291 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,359,629.50. This trade represents a 0.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 13,158 shares of company stock valued at $303,350 in the last ninety days. 7.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Natural Gas Services Group

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of NGS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Natural Gas Services Group by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 921,915 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $18,548,000 after purchasing an additional 18,001 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 1.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 491,167 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $9,543,000 after buying an additional 6,129 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Natural Gas Services Group by 5.1% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 399,342 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $8,035,000 after acquiring an additional 19,543 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Natural Gas Services Group by 32.4% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 172,221 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,346,000 after acquiring an additional 42,099 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in Natural Gas Services Group by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 162,646 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,108,000 after acquiring an additional 26,069 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.

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