Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. $NGS Shares Sold by AWM Investment Company Inc.

Key Points

• A 3.1% decrease in AWM Investment Company's holdings of Natural Gas Services Group occurred in Q1, resulting in 676,652 shares remaining in their portfolio.
• The company reported $0.41 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $0.32, but revenue was slightly below estimates at $41.38 million.
• A quarterly dividend of $0.10 was paid on August 22nd, with an annualized yield of 1.5%, while also announcing a $6 million share buyback plan.

AWM Investment Company Inc. lowered its position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:NGS - Free Report) by 3.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 676,652 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 22,000 shares during the period. Natural Gas Services Group comprises approximately 2.0% of AWM Investment Company Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. AWM Investment Company Inc. owned about 5.41% of Natural Gas Services Group worth $14,866,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NGS. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Natural Gas Services Group by 4,293.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,274 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,245 shares in the last quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC purchased a new stake in Natural Gas Services Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,458,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in Natural Gas Services Group by 17.9% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 163,473 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $3,591,000 after buying an additional 24,853 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Natural Gas Services Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $254,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Natural Gas Services Group by 370.4% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 136,748 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,004,000 after purchasing an additional 107,679 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.62% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natural Gas Services Group

In related news, Director Stephen Charles Taylor sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total transaction of $270,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 403,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,890,018. This represents a 2.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jean K. Holley bought 3,752 shares of Natural Gas Services Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $26.58 per share, for a total transaction of $99,728.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at $207,324. This trade represents a 92.69% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 5.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports 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. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Natural Gas Services Group from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Strong Buy" and an average target price of $32.50.

Natural Gas Services Group Stock Performance

NGS traded down $0.65 during trading on Friday, hitting $26.45. 45,560 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 57,716. The firm has a market capitalization of $331.65 million, a P/E ratio of 18.62 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $25.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.43. Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.73 and a 1-year high of $29.74.

Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The oil and gas company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.09. Natural Gas Services Group had a return on equity of 7.21% and a net margin of 10.92%.The business had revenue of $41.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.87 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Natural Gas Services Group declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, August 11th that allows the company to buyback $6.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Natural Gas Services Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were given 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 was Friday, August 8th. Natural Gas Services Group's payout ratio is presently 28.17%.

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.