Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) Cut to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Zacks reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Natural Gas Services Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.50.

Natural Gas Services Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NGS traded up $0.49 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $29.60. 127,862 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 108,366. The company has a market cap of $382.06 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.74 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 2.45. Natural Gas Services Group has a one year low of $26.39 and a one year high of $44.60. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $32.60 and a 200 day moving average of $37.15.

Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 9th. The oil and gas company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.04. Natural Gas Services Group had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 9.80%. The company had revenue of $61.26 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $56.43 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Natural Gas Services Group will post 1.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Natural Gas Services Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from Natural Gas Services Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Natural Gas Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.51%.

Institutional Trading of Natural Gas Services Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Natural Gas Services Group in the 3rd quarter worth $647,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 137.1% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 163,791 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,304,000 after acquiring an additional 94,702 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 22.1% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 109,549 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,547,000 after acquiring an additional 19,839 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 64.4% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 12,474 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $404,000 after purchasing an additional 4,886 shares in the last quarter. Finally, White Pine Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Natural Gas Services Group during the third quarter worth about $1,588,000. Institutional investors own 65.62% of the company’s stock.

About Natural Gas Services Group

Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. provides natural gas compression equipment and related services to oil and gas producers. Its business includes designing, fabricating, renting, selling, and maintaining compressor packages used to move natural gas from production sites into pipelines and processing facilities. The company also provides equipment such as flare systems and other production-related products. Its services support producers’ compression and gas-handling needs across onshore oil and gas operations, primarily in the United States.