Corigliano Investment Advisers LLC Makes New $253,000 Investment in Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. $NGS

Key Points

• Corigliano Investment Advisers LLC has acquired 11,500 shares of Natural Gas Services Group, valued at approximately $253,000, representing about 0.09% ownership of the company.
• The company recently authorized a $6 million share repurchase plan, indicating confidence in its stock valuation, and reported a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share.
• Natural Gas Services Group's stock has received a consensus rating of "Strong Buy" with a target price of $32.50 after positive earnings results showing a net margin of 10.92%.

Corigliano Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:NGS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 11,500 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $253,000. Corigliano Investment Advisers LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Natural Gas Services Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NGS. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 370.4% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 136,748 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,004,000 after acquiring an additional 107,679 shares in the last quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC bought a new stake in Natural Gas Services Group in the 1st quarter worth about $1,458,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Natural Gas Services Group by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 163,473 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,591,000 after purchasing an additional 24,853 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Natural Gas Services Group in the 1st quarter worth about $497,000. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Natural Gas Services Group in the 1st quarter worth about $332,000. 65.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Natural Gas Services Group news, Director Jean K. Holley purchased 3,752 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 purchase, the director owned 7,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at $207,324. This represents a 92.69% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen Charles Taylor sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.00, for a total transaction of $270,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 403,334 shares in the company, valued at $10,890,018. The trade was a 2.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 7.25% of the company's stock.

Natural Gas Services Group Stock Performance

NGS traded up $0.52 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $26.51. The company had a trading volume of 14,158 shares, compared to its average volume of 73,393. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.97. The stock has a market cap of $332.43 million, a PE ratio of 18.67 and a beta of 0.57. Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.73 and a 12-month high of $29.74. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $25.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.40.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $41.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.87 million. Natural Gas Services Group had a net margin of 10.92% and a return on equity of 7.21%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Natural Gas Services Group Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NGS. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Natural Gas Services Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Natural Gas Services Group from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Natural Gas Services Group has a consensus rating of "Strong Buy" and a consensus price target of $32.50.

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.