Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Sells 3,780 Shares of Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. $NGS

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:NGS) by 8.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,379 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 3,780 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned approximately 0.31% of Natural Gas Services Group worth $865,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Natural Gas Services Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $254,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Natural Gas Services Group by 4,293.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,274 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,245 shares during the period. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC bought a new stake in Natural Gas Services Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,458,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Natural Gas Services Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $497,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Natural Gas Services Group by 17.9% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 163,473 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,591,000 after acquiring an additional 24,853 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.62% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Stephen Charles Taylor sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.25, for a total value of $525,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 413,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,850,017.50. This represents a 4.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jean K. Holley purchased 4,048 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $24.49 per share, for a total transaction of $99,135.52. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 4,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,135.52. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,543 shares of company stock worth $1,029,998 in the last three months. Insiders own 7.25% of the company’s stock.

Natural Gas Services Group Stock Performance

Natural Gas Services Group stock opened at $27.34 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $25.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $342.84 million, a PE ratio of 19.25 and a beta of 0.57. Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.73 and a 1-year high of $29.74.

Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $41.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.87 million. Natural Gas Services Group had a net margin of 10.92% and a return on equity of 7.21%. As a group, analysts expect that Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Natural Gas Services Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, August 11th that allows the company to repurchase $6.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Natural Gas Services Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a $0.10 dividend. 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 is presently 28.17%.

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.