Key Points
- Director Stephen Charles Taylor sold 20,000 shares on December 4 at an average price of $32.12 for a total of $642,400, leaving him with 295,432 shares (a 6.34% reduction in his position, valued at about $9.49M).
- The December sale is part of a string of recent insider dispositions by Taylor since September, consisting of multiple tranches totaling tens of thousands of shares at prices generally in the high $20s to low $30s.
- The company recently authorized a $6.0 million buyback (~1.9% of shares), raised its quarterly dividend to $0.11 (annualized $0.44, yield ~1.4%), reported a quarterly EPS beat ($0.46 vs. $0.33), and carries an average analyst rating of "Strong Buy" with a $35.50 target.
Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:NGS - Get Free Report) Director Stephen Charles Taylor sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.12, for a total transaction of $642,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 295,432 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,489,275.84. This represents a 6.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.
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 shares were 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 shares were 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 stock was 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 shares were 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 stock was 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 Price Performance
NGS opened at $32.20 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $28.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.83. 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 PE ratio of 21.76 and a beta of 0.37.
Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The oil and gas company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $43.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.25 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current year.
Natural Gas Services Group declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, August 11th that allows the company to buyback $6.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.
Natural Gas Services Group Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This is a positive change from Natural Gas Services Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 20th. Natural Gas Services Group's payout ratio is 29.73%.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Natural Gas Services Group
Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NGS. Cannell Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Natural Gas Services Group by 279.3% during the second quarter. Cannell Capital LLC now owns 331,616 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $8,559,000 after purchasing an additional 244,193 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 370.4% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 136,748 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,004,000 after buying an additional 107,679 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 133.7% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 169,023 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $4,731,000 after acquiring an additional 96,690 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 151.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 153,361 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $3,958,000 after acquiring an additional 92,444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Natural Gas Services Group by 133.2% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 91,243 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,355,000 after acquiring an additional 52,115 shares during the last quarter. 65.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities research analysts have issued reports on NGS shares. Zacks Research upgraded Natural Gas Services Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Natural Gas Services Group from $33.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Natural Gas Services Group in a report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Strong Buy" and an average target price of $35.50.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Natural Gas Services Group
About Natural Gas Services Group
(
Get Free Report)
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.
See Also

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from InsiderTrades.com in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].