Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) Downgraded to Strong Sell Rating by Zacks Research

Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on NGS. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Natural Gas Services Group from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Natural Gas Services Group in a research report 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 increased their price objective for the stock from $34.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.00.

Natural Gas Services Group Stock Performance

NYSE:NGS opened at $39.75 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.33. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $500.49 million, a PE ratio of 25.32 and a beta of 0.34. Natural Gas Services Group has a 52-week low of $16.73 and a 52-week high of $40.73.

Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 16th. The oil and gas company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $46.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.81 million. Natural Gas Services Group had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 11.56%. Analysts forecast that Natural Gas Services Group will post 1.42 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Natural Gas Services Group

In related news, Director Stephen Charles Taylor sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.23, for a total value of $1,116,900.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 175,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,531,333.36. The trade was a 14.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 5.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natural Gas Services Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $17,120,000 after buying an additional 7,345 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 0.5% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 509,714 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $13,156,000 after acquiring an additional 2,424 shares during the last quarter. Weber Capital Management LLC ADV bought a new position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group during the fourth quarter worth $16,777,000. Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in Natural Gas Services Group by 2.5% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 361,571 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $10,120,000 after acquiring an additional 8,784 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cannell Capital LLC grew its stake in Natural Gas Services Group by 8.3% during the third quarter. Cannell Capital LLC now owns 359,021 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $10,049,000 after acquiring an additional 27,405 shares in the last quarter. 65.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.