Inspire Investing LLC Invests $819,000 in Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. $NGS

Key Points

• Inspire Investing LLC invested approximately $819,000 in Natural Gas Services Group, acquiring 31,746 shares during the second quarter.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.6%.
• A share repurchase plan was authorized for up to $6.00 million, indicating that the board believes the stock is undervalued.

Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:NGS - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 31,746 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $819,000. Inspire Investing LLC owned 0.25% of Natural Gas Services Group as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Natural Gas Services Group by 370.4% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 136,748 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $3,004,000 after acquiring an additional 107,679 shares during the last quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC acquired a new position in Natural Gas Services Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,458,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased 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 valued at $3,591,000 after acquiring an additional 24,853 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Natural Gas Services Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $497,000. Finally, TrueWealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Natural Gas Services Group by 127.6% during the second quarter. TrueWealth Advisors LLC now owns 28,145 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $726,000 after purchasing an additional 15,779 shares in the last quarter. 65.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Natural Gas Services Group Stock Performance

NYSE:NGS opened at $25.62 on Monday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $26.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.14. Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.73 and a 1 year high of $29.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $321.34 million, a PE ratio of 18.04 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $41.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.87 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. will post 1.42 EPS for the current year.

Natural Gas Services Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend 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 28.17%.

Natural Gas Services Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, August 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $6.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Natural Gas Services Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $32.50.

Insider Transactions at Natural Gas Services Group

In other news, Director Stephen Charles Taylor sold 20,000 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 413,334 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,850,017.50. This trade represents a 4.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jean K. Holley bought 4,048 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $24.49 per share, for a total transaction of $99,135.52. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 4,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $99,135.52. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 60,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,635,221. Corporate insiders own 5.08% of the company's stock.

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.

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