Short Interest in Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:NGS) Declines By 25.9%

Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:NGS) saw a large drop in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 117,900 shares, a drop of 25.9% from the February 28th total of 159,100 shares. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 81,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Natural Gas Services Group Stock Up 0.2 %

NGS stock traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $22.01. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 40,570 shares, compared to its average volume of 75,811. The company has a market cap of $275.28 million, a PE ratio of 17.20 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $24.79 and its 200-day moving average is $24.09. Natural Gas Services Group has a 12 month low of $16.70 and a 12 month high of $29.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $40.66 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.84 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.14 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Natural Gas Services Group will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Stephen Charles Taylor sold 19,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.80, for a total value of $558,720.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 438,387 shares in the company, valued at $12,625,545.60. This represents a 4.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 7.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in Natural Gas Services Group by 129.1% in the 3rd quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 6,325 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 3,564 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group in the 4th quarter worth $128,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 31.5% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 6,022 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $161,000 after acquiring an additional 1,443 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Natural Gas Services Group by 54.7% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 8,647 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $165,000 after acquiring an additional 3,056 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FCA Corp TX bought a new position in Natural Gas Services Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $188,000. 65.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.