Weber Capital Management LLC ADV Buys New Position in Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. $NGS

Key Points

• Weber Capital Management LLC ADV bought 498,581 shares of Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) in Q4 — about $16.78 million — making NGS its third-largest holding and representing roughly 3.97% of the company at quarter-end.
• Institutional and analyst sentiment: Institutional investors own about 65.62% of NGS, several hedge funds recently increased stakes, and analysts show mixed views but an average "Moderate Buy" rating with a $43 price target (three Buys, one Sell).
• Recent results and shareholder activity: NGS trades near $39.67 (52-week range $17.63–$40.73), reported Q EPS of $0.32 (miss) and revenue of $46.15M (beat), pays a $0.11 quarterly dividend (≈1.1% yield), and a director sold 70,000 shares in March.

Weber Capital Management LLC ADV bought a new stake in shares of Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:NGS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 498,581 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $16,777,000. Natural Gas Services Group makes up 15.8% of Weber Capital Management LLC ADV's holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Weber Capital Management LLC ADV owned 3.97% of Natural Gas Services Group at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NGS. Cannell Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 279.3% in the 2nd quarter. Cannell Capital LLC now owns 331,616 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $8,559,000 after purchasing an additional 244,193 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 133.7% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 169,023 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $4,731,000 after purchasing an additional 96,690 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 133.2% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 91,243 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,355,000 after purchasing an additional 52,115 shares during the period. Phocas Financial Corp. purchased a new stake in Natural Gas Services Group in the 4th quarter worth about $1,470,000. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its stake in Natural Gas Services Group by 192.3% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 41,439 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,160,000 after acquiring an additional 27,264 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.62% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on NGS. Raymond James Financial downgraded Natural Gas Services Group from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $34.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Natural Gas Services Group from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Zacks Research downgraded Natural Gas Services Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Natural Gas Services Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.00.

Natural Gas Services Group Stock Down 0.0%

NGS opened at $39.67 on Monday. Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.63 and a fifty-two week high of $40.73. The business has a 50-day moving average of $38.14 and a 200-day moving average of $34.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 2.33 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The company has a market capitalization of $499.82 million, a PE ratio of 25.27 and a beta of 0.39.

Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 16th. The oil and gas company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.05). Natural Gas Services Group had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 7.43%. The company had revenue of $46.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.81 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. will post 1.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Natural Gas Services Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 18th were paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 18th. Natural Gas Services Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Natural Gas Services Group

In related news, Director Stephen Charles Taylor sold 70,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.58, for a total value of $2,630,600.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 205,432 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,720,134.56. This trade represents a 25.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 7.25% of the company's stock.

Natural Gas Services Group Company Profile

Natural Gas Services Group, Inc NYSE: NGS is an energy infrastructure company specializing in natural gas distribution and compression services across the United States. The company operates two primary lines of business: the Distribution segment provides natural gas delivery to residential, commercial and industrial customers, while the Compression Services segment rents, sells and services a diversified fleet of compression equipment for midstream and industrial applications.

In its Distribution segment, Natural Gas Services Group engineers, constructs and maintains local pipeline networks, meters and related apparatus to ensure safe and reliable natural gas supply to municipal utilities and private customers.

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