Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Invests $1.46 Million in Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:NGS)

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC purchased a new stake in Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:NGS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 66,350 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $1,458,000. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC owned about 0.53% of Natural Gas Services Group as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Natural Gas Services Group by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 9,040 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $242,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc grew its position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 18,574 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $498,000 after buying an additional 697 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew 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 buying an additional 1,245 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 18,716 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $502,000 after buying an additional 1,415 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 32,102 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $860,000 after buying an additional 1,433 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.62% of the company's stock.

Natural Gas Services Group Trading Down 3.1%

Shares of Natural Gas Services Group stock traded down $0.77 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $24.26. 64,109 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 69,462. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 2.10. The company has a market cap of $303.98 million, a PE ratio of 17.97 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $24.65 and a 200-day moving average of $24.01. Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.70 and a 12 month high of $29.74.

Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The oil and gas company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $41.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.52 million. Natural Gas Services Group had a return on equity of 6.99% and a net margin of 10.53%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. will post 1.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Natural Gas Services Group

In other news, Director Stephen Charles Taylor sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.90, for a total transaction of $622,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 433,334 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,790,016.60. This represents a 5.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 7.25% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on NGS. Wall Street Zen upgraded Natural Gas Services Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $32.00 target price (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Natural Gas Services Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Natural Gas Services Group from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th.

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.