Stifel Nicolaus Issues Positive Forecast for Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) Stock Price

Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) had its price target raised by Stifel Nicolaus from $39.00 to $44.00 in a research note published on Friday,Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently commented on NGS. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Natural Gas Services Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Natural Gas Services Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $34.00 to $42.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Natural Gas Services Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

Natural Gas Services Group Stock Performance

NGS opened at $39.01 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.99. Natural Gas Services Group has a 52-week low of $16.73 and a 52-week high of $40.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 2.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $491.15 million, a PE ratio of 24.85 and a beta of 0.34.

Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 16th. The oil and gas company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $46.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.81 million. Natural Gas Services Group had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 7.43%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Natural Gas Services Group will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Natural Gas Services Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 18th. Natural Gas Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.03%.

Insider Activity at Natural Gas Services Group

In related news, Director Stephen Charles Taylor sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.23, for a total value of $1,116,900.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 175,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,531,333.36. This represents a 14.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 5.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natural Gas Services Group

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Natural Gas Services Group by 105.5% during the 2nd quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,424 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 731 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Natural Gas Services Group by 106.7% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 3,100 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Natural Gas Services Group in the 4th quarter valued at $106,000. 65.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Natural Gas Services Group Company Profile

Natural Gas Services Group, Inc (NYSE: NGS) is an energy infrastructure company specializing in natural gas distribution and compression services across the United States. The company operates two primary lines of business: the Distribution segment provides natural gas delivery to residential, commercial and industrial customers, while the Compression Services segment rents, sells and services a diversified fleet of compression equipment for midstream and industrial applications.

In its Distribution segment, Natural Gas Services Group engineers, constructs and maintains local pipeline networks, meters and related apparatus to ensure safe and reliable natural gas supply to municipal utilities and private customers.