HighTower Advisors LLC Takes Position in Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. $NGS

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC made a new investment of approximately $254,000 in Natural Gas Services Group, acquiring 11,581 shares during the first quarter.
• Analysts have upgraded Natural Gas Services Group's stock rating to a "hold" and raised its target price to $33.00, indicating growing confidence in the company's prospects.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share and initiated a stock repurchase program allowing for the buyback of up to $6 million worth of shares, signaling belief in its value and performance.

HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:NGS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 11,581 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $254,000. HighTower Advisors 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 added to or reduced their stakes in NGS. Victory Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Natural Gas Services Group during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Natural Gas Services Group by 4,293.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,274 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 1,245 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in Natural Gas Services Group by 31.5% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 6,022 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $161,000 after buying an additional 1,443 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in Natural Gas Services Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $241,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised 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 buying an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. 65.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jean K. Holley bought 4,048 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $24.49 per share, with a total value of $99,135.52. Following the purchase, the director owned 4,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,135.52. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen Charles Taylor sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director directly owned 413,334 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,850,017.50. This represents a 4.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Natural Gas Services Group Price Performance

NGS stock traded up $0.65 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $26.64. 7,483 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 73,355. 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 company has a market cap of $334.07 million, a P/E ratio of 18.73 and a beta of 0.57. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $25.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.40. Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.73 and a 52-week high of $29.74.

Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The oil and gas company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $41.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.87 million. As a group, analysts predict that Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Natural Gas Services Group declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Natural Gas Services Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Natural Gas Services Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on NGS shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Natural Gas Services Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Natural Gas Services Group from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Strong Buy" and an average 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.