Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. $NGS Stock Position Increased by Invesco Ltd.

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. significantly increased its stake in Natural Gas Services Group, raising its ownership by 370.4% to a total of 136,748 shares valued at approximately $3 million.
• The company announced a $6 million share buyback program, indicating the board's belief that the stock is undervalued.
• Natural Gas Services Group recently reported earnings of $0.41 per share, surpassing analyst expectations, and has a dividend yield of 1.5% following a recent distribution.

Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:NGS - Free Report) by 370.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 136,748 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after buying an additional 107,679 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned about 1.09% of Natural Gas Services Group worth $3,004,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Natural Gas Services Group by 4.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Man Group plc grew its position in Natural Gas Services Group by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 18,574 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $498,000 after acquiring an additional 697 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Natural Gas Services Group in the first quarter worth about $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 18,716 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $502,000 after acquiring an additional 1,415 shares in the last quarter. 65.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Natural Gas Services Group Stock Performance

NYSE NGS traded up $0.22 during trading on Thursday, reaching $26.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,374 shares, compared to its average volume of 73,659. The firm has a market cap of $331.75 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.63 and a beta of 0.57. The business's fifty day moving average price is $25.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.97. Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.73 and a twelve month high of $29.74.

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

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

Natural Gas Services Group Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Natural Gas Services Group

In related news, Director Jean K. Holley acquired 4,048 shares of Natural Gas Services Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $24.49 per share, for a total transaction of $99,135.52. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 4,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at $99,135.52. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen Charles Taylor sold 20,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the director owned 413,334 shares in the company, valued at $10,850,017.50. This trade represents a 4.62% 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on NGS shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Natural Gas Services Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company 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.