Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) Share Price Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:NGS) shares passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $29.35 and traded as high as $36.73. Natural Gas Services Group shares last traded at $36.3950, with a volume of 265,338 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NGS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research cut Natural Gas Services Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Natural Gas Services Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Natural Gas Services Group from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded Natural Gas Services Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $34.00 to $42.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.50.

Natural Gas Services Group Price Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $457.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.59 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.83.

Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The oil and gas company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $43.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.25 million. Natural Gas Services Group had a return on equity of 7.37% and a net margin of 11.20%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Natural Gas Services Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th were given a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 20th. This is a boost from Natural Gas Services Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Natural Gas Services Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Natural Gas Services Group news, Director Jean K. Holley bought 2,190 shares of Natural Gas Services Group stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $32.04 per share, with a total value of $70,167.60. Following the acquisition, the director owned 14,390 shares in the company, valued at $461,055.60. This trade represents a 17.95% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen Charles Taylor sold 10,000 shares of Natural Gas Services Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.16, for a total value of $331,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 285,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,464,925.12. The trade was a 3.38% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 40,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,277,100. 5.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Natural Gas Services Group

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new position in Natural Gas Services Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 105.5% during the second quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,424 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 731 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in Natural Gas Services Group by 106.7% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 3,100 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 1,600 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Natural Gas Services Group in the fourth quarter valued at $106,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Natural Gas Services Group during the second quarter valued at $210,000. 65.62% of the stock is currently owned by 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.