Insider Buying: Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:NGS) Director Purchases 4,048 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Director Purchase: Natural Gas Services Group Director Jean K. Holley bought 4,048 shares at $24.49 each, totaling approximately $99,135.52.
• Dividend Announcement: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.6%, payable on August 22nd.
• Share Buyback Plan: Natural Gas Services Group authorized a $6 million share buyback, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:NGS - Get Free Report) Director Jean K. Holley purchased 4,048 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $24.49 per share, for a total transaction of $99,135.52. Following the purchase, the director owned 4,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $99,135.52. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Natural Gas Services Group Price Performance

Shares of NGS stock traded up $0.47 during trading on Friday, hitting $24.83. The company had a trading volume of 32,703 shares, compared to its average volume of 75,319. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock's 50-day moving average is $25.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $311.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.47 and a beta of 0.66. 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.87 million. As a group, analysts predict that Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. will post 1.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Natural Gas Services Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Natural Gas Services Group's payout ratio is 28.17%.

Natural Gas Services Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, August 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $6.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NGS. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,245 shares in the last quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Natural Gas Services Group in the first quarter worth approximately $1,458,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Natural Gas Services Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $241,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 17.7% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 22,634 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $607,000 after acquiring an additional 3,398 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Natural Gas Services Group during the fourth quarter worth $1,001,000. 65.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NGS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Natural Gas Services Group from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research 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 note on Wednesday, May 21st.

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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