Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) Stock Bumped Down to Strong Sell by Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Zacks reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings downgraded Natural Gas Services Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.50.

Natural Gas Services Group Price Performance

Shares of NGS stock traded up $0.49 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $29.60. 127,862 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 108,366. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.15. The firm has a market cap of $382.06 million, a PE ratio of 18.74 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.45 and a quick ratio of 1.12. Natural Gas Services Group has a 1-year low of $26.39 and a 1-year high of $44.60.

Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 9th. The oil and gas company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $61.26 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $56.43 million. Natural Gas Services Group had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 9.80%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Natural Gas Services Group will post 1.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Natural Gas Services Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This is an increase from Natural Gas Services Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Natural Gas Services Group’s dividend payout ratio is 40.51%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NGS. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Natural Gas Services Group during the second quarter worth about $3,870,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Natural Gas Services Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,219,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,999,000. Crown Advisors Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,451,000. Finally, Cannell Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $5,279,775. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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 related services to oil and gas producers. Its business includes designing, fabricating, renting, selling, and maintaining compressor packages used to move natural gas from production sites into pipelines and processing facilities. The company also provides equipment such as flare systems and other production-related products. Its services support producers’ compression and gas-handling needs across onshore oil and gas operations, primarily in the United States.