Nuveen LLC Buys Shares of 22,634 Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. $NGS

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC acquired 22,634 shares of Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. valued at approximately $497,000, representing about 0.18% of the company's stock as of the latest SEC filing.
• Several institutional investors, including Invesco Ltd. and Victory Capital Management, significantly increased their positions in Natural Gas Services Group during the first quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share and initiated a $6.00 million share repurchase plan, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:NGS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 22,634 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $497,000. Nuveen LLC owned approximately 0.18% of Natural Gas Services Group at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Natural Gas Services Group in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,245 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in Natural Gas Services Group by 31.5% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 6,022 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $161,000 after buying an additional 1,443 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in Natural Gas Services Group in the 4th quarter worth about $241,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. 65.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Natural Gas Services Group

In related news, Director Jean K. Holley purchased 4,048 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $24.49 per share, with a total value of $99,135.52. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 4,048 shares in the company, valued at $99,135.52. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen Charles Taylor sold 20,000 shares of Natural Gas Services Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.25, for a total transaction of $525,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 413,334 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,850,017.50. The trade was a 4.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 5.08% of the company's stock.

Natural Gas Services Group Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NGS traded up $0.14 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $26.54. 36,957 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 52,691. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.44. The stock has a market cap of $332.80 million, a PE ratio of 18.69 and a beta of 0.57. Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.73 and a twelve month high of $29.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 11th. The oil and gas company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $41.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.87 million. Natural Gas Services Group had a return on equity of 7.21% and a net margin of 10.92%. On average, analysts anticipate 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 of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program 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 programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Natural Gas Services Group Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NGS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased 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 raised Natural Gas Services Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Strong Buy" and an average price target of $32.50.

Natural Gas Services Group 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.