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

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning.

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

Natural Gas Services Group Stock Down 1.9 %

NGS stock traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $21.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 58,682 shares, compared to its average volume of 75,952. The firm's 50-day moving average is $25.06 and its 200-day moving average is $23.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Natural Gas Services Group has a 12 month low of $16.70 and a 12 month high of $29.74. The company has a market cap of $271.83 million, a PE ratio of 16.98 and a beta of 1.13.

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

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Insider Activity at Natural Gas Services Group

In related news, Director Stephen Charles Taylor sold 19,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.80, for a total transaction of $558,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 438,387 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,625,545.60. The trade was a 4.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 7.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NGS. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 3,564 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group in the fourth quarter worth about $128,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,443 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 3,056 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FCA Corp TX bought a new position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $188,000. 65.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.