Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:NGS) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $44.27 and last traded at $44.0310, with a volume of 50748 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $43.33.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Natural Gas Services Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Natural Gas Services Group from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Natural Gas Services Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.50.

Natural Gas Services Group Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average is $40.70 and its 200-day moving average is $37.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 2.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $553.62 million, a PE ratio of 25.55 and a beta of 0.41.

Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The oil and gas company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $48.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.09 million. Natural Gas Services Group had a net margin of 12.17% and a return on equity of 7.99%. As a group, research analysts predict that Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. will post 2.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Natural Gas Services Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. This is a positive change from Natural Gas Services Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Natural Gas Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.88%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in Natural Gas Services Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new position in Natural Gas Services Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Natural Gas Services Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $106,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $114,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 4,602 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $154,000 after purchasing an additional 771 shares during the period. 65.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.