Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) Issues Earnings Results

Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) posted its earnings results on Monday. The oil and gas company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.13, Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $43.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.25 million. Natural Gas Services Group had a net margin of 10.92% and a return on equity of 7.21%.

Natural Gas Services Group Stock Up 4.0%

Shares of NGS stock traded up $1.18 during trading on Monday, reaching $30.39. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 131,634 shares, compared to its average volume of 70,374. Natural Gas Services Group has a one year low of $16.73 and a one year high of $30.48. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $27.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.32. The company has a market cap of $381.09 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.40 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Natural Gas Services Group in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Natural Gas Services Group has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $32.50.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Stephen Charles Taylor sold 11,152 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.06, for a total transaction of $324,077.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 364,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,583,070.80. This represents a 2.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jean K. Holley purchased 3,752 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $26.58 per share, for a total transaction of $99,728.16. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,324. The trade was a 92.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 71,252 shares of company stock worth $1,962,198 over the last three months. Insiders own 5.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natural Gas Services Group

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NGS. Man Group plc bought a new position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group in the second quarter valued at about $231,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Natural Gas Services Group by 37.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 10,769 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 2,909 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Natural Gas Services Group by 831.2% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 12,776 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 11,404 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Natural Gas Services Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $320,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in Natural Gas Services Group during the second quarter worth approximately $362,000. Institutional investors own 65.62% of the company’s stock.

Natural Gas Services Group Company Profile

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.