Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:NGS) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:NGS) saw a significant decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 117,900 shares, a decrease of 25.9% from the February 28th total of 159,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 81,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days. Approximately 1.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Stephen Charles Taylor sold 19,400 shares of Natural Gas Services Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.80, for a total transaction of $558,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 438,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,625,545.60. This trade represents a 4.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 7.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Man Group plc boosted its holdings in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 18,574 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $498,000 after purchasing an additional 697 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 22,634 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $607,000 after buying an additional 3,398 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in Natural Gas Services Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $241,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its position in Natural Gas Services Group by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 266,508 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,142,000 after acquiring an additional 3,797 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Natural Gas Services Group by 34.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,048 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $323,000 after acquiring an additional 3,092 shares in the last quarter. 65.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Natural Gas Services Group Price Performance

Shares of NGS traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $21.98. 182,971 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 76,379. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Natural Gas Services Group has a fifty-two week low of $16.70 and a fifty-two week high of $29.74. The company has a market cap of $274.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.17 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $24.94 and its 200 day moving average is $24.07.

Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $40.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.84 million. Natural Gas Services Group had a net margin of 10.55% and a return on equity of 6.60%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.14 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Natural Gas Services Group will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on NGS. StockNews.com raised shares of Natural Gas Services Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $32.00 price target (down from $33.00) on shares of Natural Gas Services Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th.

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.