Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) Stock Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:NGS) passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $24.35 and traded as high as $27.35. Natural Gas Services Group shares last traded at $27.28, with a volume of 49,515 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Natural Gas Services Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Natural Gas Services Group has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.50.

Natural Gas Services Group Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $342.12 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.21 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $26.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.35.

Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The oil and gas company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $41.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.87 million. Natural Gas Services Group had a return on equity of 7.21% and a net margin of 10.92%. On average, 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. Natural Gas Services Group’s payout ratio is presently 28.17%.

Natural Gas Services Group declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, August 11th that permits the company to buyback $6.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Natural Gas Services Group

In related news, Director Stephen Charles Taylor sold 20,000 shares of Natural Gas Services Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.25, for a total transaction of $525,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 413,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,850,017.50. The trade was a 4.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jean K. Holley bought 4,048 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $24.49 per share, for a total transaction of $99,135.52. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 4,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,135.52. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 60,000 shares of company stock worth $1,635,221. 7.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natural Gas Services Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 4,293.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,274 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,245 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 105.5% in the 2nd quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,424 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 731 shares during the period. State of Wyoming boosted its position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 116.0% in the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 4,427 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 2,377 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group in the 1st quarter valued at $115,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.62% of the company’s stock.

About Natural Gas Services Group

Natural Gas Services Group, Inc provides natural gas compression equipment and services to the energy industry in the United States. It engineers and fabricates, operates, rents, and maintains natural gas compressors for oil and natural gas production and plant facilities. It also designs, fabricates, and assembles compressor units for rental or sale; and designs, manufactures, and sells a line of reciprocating natural gas compressor frames, cylinders, and parts.