Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) Shares Cross Above 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:NGS)’s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $37.52 and traded as high as $43.33. Natural Gas Services Group shares last traded at $43.27, with a volume of 142,102 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Natural Gas Services Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Natural Gas Services Group from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.50.

Natural Gas Services Group Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $539.39 million, a PE ratio of 24.89 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 2.70 and a quick ratio of 1.77.

Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 11th. The oil and gas company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $48.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.09 million. Natural Gas Services Group had a net margin of 12.17% and a return on equity of 7.99%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. will post 2.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Natural Gas Services Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This is an increase from Natural Gas Services Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. Natural Gas Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.88%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Natural Gas Services Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NGS. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in Natural Gas Services Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new stake in Natural Gas Services Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Natural Gas Services Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $106,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Natural Gas Services Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $114,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 20.1% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 4,602 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $154,000 after purchasing an additional 771 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.62% 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.