Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) Stock Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - What's Next?

Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:NGS - Get Free Report)'s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $33.86 and traded as high as $39.00. Natural Gas Services Group shares last traded at $38.4650, with a volume of 65,697 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Natural Gas Services Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Natural Gas Services Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Natural Gas Services Group from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.00.

Natural Gas Services Group Trading Up 1.0%

The company has a market cap of $484.66 million, a P/E ratio of 24.50 and a beta of 0.39. The business's 50-day moving average price is $38.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.33.

Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 16th. The oil and gas company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $46.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.81 million. As a group, analysts expect that Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Natural Gas Services Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 18th. Natural Gas Services Group's dividend payout ratio is 28.03%.

Insider Transactions at Natural Gas Services Group

In other Natural Gas Services Group news, Director Stephen Charles Taylor sold 30,000 shares of Natural Gas Services Group stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.23, for a total transaction of $1,116,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 175,432 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,531,333.36. The trade was a 14.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 5.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natural Gas Services Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Weber Capital Management LLC ADV bought a new position in Natural Gas Services Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $16,777,000. Cannell Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 279.3% during the second quarter. Cannell Capital LLC now owns 331,616 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $8,559,000 after acquiring an additional 244,193 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Natural Gas Services Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,591,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 133.7% in the third 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 last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 425.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 105,842 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $3,562,000 after purchasing an additional 85,682 shares during the last quarter. 65.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Natural Gas Services Group

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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