Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) Earns Strong-Buy Rating from Raymond James

Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS)‘s stock had its “strong-buy” rating reiterated by equities research 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 previous target price of $33.00. Raymond James’ price target suggests a potential upside of 48.81% from the stock’s previous close.

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Natural Gas Services Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday.

Natural Gas Services Group Price Performance

NYSE NGS opened at $21.50 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $268.58 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80 and a beta of 1.13. Natural Gas Services Group has a 52-week low of $16.70 and a 52-week high of $29.74.

Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $40.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.14 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Natural Gas Services Group will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Stephen Charles Taylor sold 19,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.80, for a total value of $558,720.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 438,387 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,625,545.60. This represents a 4.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 7.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natural Gas Services Group

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Natural Gas Services Group by 76.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 34,548 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $660,000 after buying an additional 14,974 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in Natural Gas Services Group by 195.2% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 31,362 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $840,000 after purchasing an additional 20,738 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Natural Gas Services Group by 47.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 17,301 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 5,575 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Natural Gas Services Group by 19.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 162,646 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,108,000 after purchasing an additional 26,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new position in Natural Gas Services Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $890,000. 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 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.