Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) Upgraded to "Hold" at StockNews.com

Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday.

Separately, Raymond James reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $32.00 target price (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Natural Gas Services Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th.

Natural Gas Services Group Price Performance

Shares of Natural Gas Services Group stock traded up $0.02 on Tuesday, reaching $19.42. 77,114 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 74,028. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.76. The firm has a market cap of $242.82 million, a PE ratio of 15.17 and a beta of 0.77. The firm's 50 day moving average is $22.40 and its 200-day moving average is $23.99. Natural Gas Services Group has a one year low of $16.70 and a one year high of $29.74.

Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, March 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.02. Natural Gas Services Group had a return on equity of 6.60% and a net margin of 10.55%. The firm had revenue of $40.66 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $40.84 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.14 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Natural Gas Services Group will post 1.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Natural Gas Services Group

In other Natural Gas Services Group news, Director Stephen Charles Taylor sold 19,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.80, for a total value of $558,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 438,387 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,625,545.60. This represents a 4.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 7.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Natural Gas Services Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Natural Gas Services Group by 76.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 34,548 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $660,000 after buying an additional 14,974 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 195.2% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 31,362 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $840,000 after acquiring an additional 20,738 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 47.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 17,301 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 5,575 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 19.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 162,646 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,108,000 after purchasing an additional 26,069 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Natural Gas Services Group in the fourth quarter worth $1,001,000. 65.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.