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

Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:NGS) was the recipient of 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. Approximately 1.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 81,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days.

Natural Gas Services Group Price Performance

NYSE:NGS opened at $21.73 on Friday. Natural Gas Services Group has a one year low of $16.70 and a one year high of $29.74. The stock has a market cap of $271.83 million, a PE ratio of 16.98 and a beta of 1.13. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $25.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.01.

Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) last issued its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $40.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.84 million. Natural Gas Services Group had a return on equity of 6.60% and a net margin of 10.55%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.14 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Natural Gas Services Group will post 1.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Natural Gas Services Group

In other news, Director Stephen Charles Taylor sold 19,400 shares of Natural Gas Services Group 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 directly owns 438,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,625,545.60. The trade was a 4.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 7.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natural Gas Services Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $660,000 after buying an additional 14,974 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in Natural Gas Services Group by 195.2% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 31,362 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $840,000 after purchasing an additional 20,738 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 47.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 17,301 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 5,575 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 162,646 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,108,000 after purchasing an additional 26,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group during the 4th quarter worth $890,000. 65.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Natural Gas Services Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set 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.