Stifel Nicolaus Increases Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) Price Target to $44.00

Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) had its target price upped by stock analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $39.00 to $44.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 12.79% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Zacks Research lowered Natural Gas Services Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Natural Gas Services Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut shares of Natural Gas Services Group from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $34.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.00.

Natural Gas Services Group Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE NGS opened at $39.01 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $36.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 2.33 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Natural Gas Services Group has a 1-year low of $16.73 and a 1-year high of $40.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $491.15 million, a P/E ratio of 24.85 and a beta of 0.34.

Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 16th. The oil and gas company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $46.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.81 million. Natural Gas Services Group had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 7.43%. As a group, research analysts expect that Natural Gas Services Group will post 1.42 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Stephen Charles Taylor sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.23, for a total value of $1,116,900.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 175,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,531,333.36. This trade represents a 14.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 5.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 103.8% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 75,284 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,943,000 after buying an additional 38,341 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Natural Gas Services Group by 151.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 153,361 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,958,000 after acquiring an additional 92,444 shares during the period. Acuitas Investments LLC increased its position in Natural Gas Services Group by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Acuitas Investments LLC now owns 216,700 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,065,000 after purchasing an additional 16,500 shares during the period. Cannell Capital LLC increased its position in Natural Gas Services Group by 8.3% during 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 period. Finally, Royce & Associates LP raised its holdings in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 361,571 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $10,120,000 after purchasing an additional 8,784 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.62% of the company’s stock.

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.