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

Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Tuesday.

Separately, Raymond James reissued 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 report on Wednesday, March 19th.

Natural Gas Services Group Price Performance

NYSE:NGS traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $19.42. The stock had a trading volume of 77,114 shares, compared to its average volume of 73,981. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Natural Gas Services Group has a one year low of $16.70 and a one year high of $29.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $242.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.17 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.93.

Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, March 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $40.66 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $40.84 million. Natural Gas Services Group had a return on equity of 6.60% and a net margin of 10.55%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.14 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Natural Gas Services Group will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Stephen Charles Taylor sold 19,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.80, for a total value of $558,720.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 438,387 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,625,545.60. This represents a 4.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 7.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natural Gas Services Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 4,293.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,274 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,245 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Natural Gas Services Group during the fourth quarter valued at $128,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in Natural Gas Services Group by 31.5% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 6,022 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $161,000 after acquiring an additional 1,443 shares in the last quarter. FCA Corp TX purchased a new stake in shares of Natural Gas Services Group in the fourth quarter worth $188,000. Finally, Net Worth Advisory Group bought a new position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group during the fourth quarter valued at $213,000. Institutional investors own 65.62% of the company's stock.

Natural Gas Services Group Company Profile

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.