Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) Stock Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:NGS) crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $30.04 and traded as high as $37.70. Natural Gas Services Group shares last traded at $37.2710, with a volume of 73,640 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on NGS. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Natural Gas Services Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research lowered Natural Gas Services Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Natural Gas Services Group from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered Natural Gas Services Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $34.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Natural Gas Services Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.50.

Natural Gas Services Group Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $468.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.18 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s 50 day moving average is $34.42 and its 200 day moving average is $30.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Natural Gas Services Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be given a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. Natural Gas Services Group’s payout ratio is presently 29.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jean K. Holley purchased 2,190 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $32.04 per share, for a total transaction of $70,167.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 14,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $461,055.60. This trade represents a 17.95% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Stephen Charles Taylor sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 285,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,464,925.12. This trade represents a 3.38% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 7.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Natural Gas Services Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Natural Gas Services Group by 1.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 611,653 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $17,120,000 after acquiring an additional 7,345 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 509,714 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $13,156,000 after purchasing an additional 2,424 shares during the last quarter. Weber Capital Management LLC ADV bought a new stake in shares of Natural Gas Services Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $16,777,000. Royce & Associates LP increased its position in Natural Gas Services Group by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 361,571 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $10,120,000 after purchasing an additional 8,784 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cannell Capital LLC lifted its stake in Natural Gas Services Group by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cannell Capital LLC now owns 359,021 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $10,049,000 after purchasing an additional 27,405 shares during the last quarter. 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.