Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

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

Natural Gas Services Group Trading Down 4.1 %

NGS opened at $21.50 on Tuesday. Natural Gas Services Group has a 52 week low of $16.70 and a 52 week high of $29.74. The company has a market capitalization of $268.58 million, a P/E ratio of 16.80 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $25.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $40.84 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.14 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Natural Gas Services Group will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Natural Gas Services Group

In related news, Director Stephen Charles Taylor sold 19,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was 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 $12,625,545.60. This represents a 4.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 7.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natural Gas Services Group

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Natural Gas Services Group in the fourth quarter worth $128,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in Natural Gas Services Group by 31.5% during the 4th 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 during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 129.1% during the third 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. FCA Corp TX acquired a new stake in Natural Gas Services Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $188,000. Finally, Net Worth Advisory Group purchased a new stake in Natural Gas Services Group in the fourth quarter valued at $213,000. 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.