Natural Gas Services Group’s (NGS) Strong-Buy Rating Reiterated at Raymond James

Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS)‘s stock had its “strong-buy” rating restated by analysts at Raymond James in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $32.00 target price on the oil and gas company’s stock, down from their prior target price of $33.00. Raymond James’ target price points to a potential upside of 45.62% from the stock’s previous close.

Separately, StockNews.com cut Natural Gas Services Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

Natural Gas Services Group Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE NGS traded up $0.15 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $21.98. The company had a trading volume of 8,755 shares, compared to its average volume of 74,191. The stock has a market cap of $274.47 million, a P/E ratio of 17.17 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $25.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.92. 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 has a 12 month low of $16.70 and a 12 month high of $29.74.

Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $40.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.84 million. Natural Gas Services Group had a net margin of 10.55% and a return on equity of 6.60%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.14 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Natural Gas Services Group will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Natural Gas Services Group

In other Natural Gas Services Group news, Director Stephen Charles Taylor sold 19,400 shares of the business’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 438,387 shares in the company, valued at $12,625,545.60. The trade was a 4.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 7.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natural Gas Services Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Natural Gas Services Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,733,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Natural Gas Services Group by 119.8% during the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 229,294 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,145,000 after buying an additional 124,978 shares during the period. Crown Advisors Management Inc. bought a new stake in Natural Gas Services Group in the 4th quarter worth $2,680,000. EAM Investors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,089,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,001,000. 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.