HighTower Advisors LLC Makes New $254,000 Investment in Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. $NGS

HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:NGS) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 11,581 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $254,000. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.09% of Natural Gas Services Group as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its position in Natural Gas Services Group by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 266,508 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,142,000 after purchasing an additional 3,797 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 370.4% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 136,748 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,004,000 after purchasing an additional 107,679 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 96,529 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,587,000 after purchasing an additional 4,384 shares during the period. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC purchased a new position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group during the 1st quarter worth $1,458,000. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 22,634 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $607,000 after buying an additional 3,398 shares during the last quarter. 65.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Natural Gas Services Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Natural Gas Services Group from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Natural Gas Services Group presently has an average rating of “Strong Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Natural Gas Services Group news, Director Jean K. Holley acquired 4,048 shares of Natural Gas Services Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $24.49 per share, with a total value of $99,135.52. Following the purchase, the director owned 4,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,135.52. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen Charles Taylor sold 20,000 shares of Natural Gas Services Group stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.25, for a total transaction of $525,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 413,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,850,017.50. The trade was a 4.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 7.25% of the company’s stock.

Natural Gas Services Group Trading Down 0.5%

Natural Gas Services Group stock opened at $26.35 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $25.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.48. Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.73 and a 1 year high of $29.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.97. The firm has a market cap of $330.43 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.56 and a beta of 0.57.

Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 11th. The oil and gas company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.09. Natural Gas Services Group had a net margin of 10.92% and a return on equity of 7.21%. The firm had revenue of $41.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.87 million. On average, research analysts predict that Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. will post 1.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Natural Gas Services Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Natural Gas Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.17%.

Natural Gas Services Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, August 11th that permits the company to repurchase $6.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Natural Gas Services Group 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.