Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) Director Stephen Charles Taylor Sells 20,000 Shares of Stock

Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:NGS) Director Stephen Charles Taylor sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.12, for a total transaction of $642,400.00. Following the sale, the director owned 295,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,489,275.84. This trade represents a 6.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Stephen Charles Taylor also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, November 19th, Stephen Charles Taylor sold 10,000 shares of Natural Gas Services Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.31, for a total value of $303,100.00.
• On Friday, November 7th, Stephen Charles Taylor sold 11,152 shares of Natural Gas Services Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.06, for a total value of $324,077.12.
• On Thursday, November 6th, Stephen Charles Taylor sold 100 shares of Natural Gas Services Group stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.00, for a total value of $2,900.00.
• On Friday, September 26th, Stephen Charles Taylor sold 7,915 shares of Natural Gas Services Group stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.50, for a total value of $225,577.50.
• On Thursday, September 25th, Stephen Charles Taylor sold 759 shares of Natural Gas Services Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.50, for a total value of $21,631.50.
• On Wednesday, September 24th, Stephen Charles Taylor sold 1,326 shares of Natural Gas Services Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.50, for a total value of $37,791.00.
• On Tuesday, September 23rd, Stephen Charles Taylor sold 11,457 shares of Natural Gas Services Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.95, for a total transaction of $320,223.15.
• On Friday, September 19th, Stephen Charles Taylor sold 63 shares of Natural Gas Services Group stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.50, for a total transaction of $1,732.50.
• On Thursday, September 18th, Stephen Charles Taylor sold 1,638 shares of Natural Gas Services Group stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.50, for a total transaction of $45,045.00.
• On Wednesday, September 17th, Stephen Charles Taylor sold 6,553 shares of Natural Gas Services Group stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.51, for a total transaction of $180,273.03.

Natural Gas Services Group Stock Performance

NYSE NGS opened at $32.20 on Friday. Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.73 and a 52-week high of $32.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $404.79 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.76 and a beta of 0.37. The company’s fifty day moving average is $28.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The oil and gas company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.13. Natural Gas Services Group had a return on equity of 7.37% and a net margin of 11.20%.The firm had revenue of $43.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.25 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. will post 1.42 EPS for the current year.

Natural Gas Services Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, August 11th that permits the company to repurchase $6.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to purchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Natural Gas Services Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th were given a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. This is an increase from Natural Gas Services Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 20th. Natural Gas Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.73%.

Institutional Trading of Natural Gas Services Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 105.5% in the 2nd quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,424 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 731 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Natural Gas Services Group by 106.7% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 3,100 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming grew its holdings in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 116.0% during the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 4,427 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 2,377 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Natural Gas Services Group in the first quarter valued at $115,000. Finally, Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC bought a new position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group in the third quarter valued at about $218,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.62% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on NGS shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Natural Gas Services Group from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Natural Gas Services Group in a research report on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Natural Gas Services Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.50.

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.