14,134 Shares in Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. $NGS Bought by EntryPoint Capital LLC

Key Points

• EntryPoint Capital LLC invested approximately $311,000 in Natural Gas Services Group, acquiring 14,134 shares during the first quarter, representing 0.11% of the company.
• Natural Gas Services Group recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.10 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 1.5% and a payout ratio of 28.17%.
• Analysts have upgraded the stock rating of Natural Gas Services Group to "Strong Buy" with a consensus price target of $32.50, following recent positive earnings performance.

EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:NGS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 14,134 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $311,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Natural Gas Services Group at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 17.9% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 163,473 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,591,000 after buying an additional 24,853 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Natural Gas Services Group during the first quarter worth approximately $254,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Natural Gas Services Group during the first quarter worth approximately $497,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 107,679 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Natural Gas Services Group during the first quarter worth approximately $251,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.62% of the company's stock.

Natural Gas Services Group Price Performance

Shares of Natural Gas Services Group stock traded down $1.5190 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $25.1610. The company had a trading volume of 56,575 shares, compared to its average volume of 74,904. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market capitalization of $315.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.72 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.47. 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 issued its quarterly 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. Natural Gas Services Group had a net margin of 10.92% and a return on equity of 7.21%. The business had revenue of $41.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.87 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Natural Gas Services Group announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, August 11th that allows the company to buyback $6.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Natural Gas Services Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders 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 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. Natural Gas Services Group's payout ratio is currently 28.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Natural Gas Services Group news, Director Stephen Charles Taylor sold 20,000 shares of Natural Gas Services Group stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.25, for a total transaction of $525,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 413,334 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,850,017.50. The trade was a 4.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jean K. Holley bought 4,048 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $24.49 per share, with a total value of $99,135.52. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 4,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,135.52. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 5.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NGS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised 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 report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Natural Gas Services Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Strong Buy" and a consensus target price 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.