Precision Drilling Corporation (PDS) - What Are Investment Firms Thinking About This Stock?

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is moderately positive: Eight brokerages give Precision Drilling an average “Moderate Buy” rating, with a $122.33 average one-year price target versus a recent share price of $85.25.
• Institutional ownership increased: Several hedge funds and investment firms expanded their positions, and institutions collectively own 48.86% of Precision Drilling’s shares.
• Recent earnings were mixed: The company reported quarterly revenue of $319.15 million, ahead of estimates, but posted an EPS loss of $0.38 that fell well short of the expected $0.43 profit.

Shares of Precision Drilling Corporation (NYSE:PDS - Get Free Report) TSE: PD have earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $122.33.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PDS. Zacks Research raised Precision Drilling from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Precision Drilling in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Precision Drilling from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 9th.

Institutional Trading of Precision Drilling

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PDS. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Precision Drilling by 67.0% during the 1st quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 487,434 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $47,957,000 after purchasing an additional 195,598 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Precision Drilling by 24.3% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 373,936 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $36,803,000 after buying an additional 73,084 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Precision Drilling by 37.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 288,013 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $28,340,000 after buying an additional 77,775 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Precision Drilling by 129.5% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 114,706 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $11,287,000 after buying an additional 64,735 shares during the period. Finally, Equinox Partners Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Precision Drilling by 116.6% in the first quarter. Equinox Partners Investment Management LLC now owns 65,211 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $6,415,000 after buying an additional 35,100 shares during the period. 48.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Precision Drilling Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE PDS opened at $85.25 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -40.79 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $86.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.35. Precision Drilling has a 52 week low of $53.68 and a 52 week high of $103.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.46.

Precision Drilling (NYSE:PDS - Get Free Report) TSE: PD last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.38) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.81). Precision Drilling had a negative net margin of 1.68% and a positive return on equity of 2.11%. The business had revenue of $319.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $310.70 million. On average, research analysts predict that Precision Drilling will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Precision Drilling Company Profile

Precision Drilling Corporation is an oilfield services company that provides contract drilling and related services to oil and natural gas exploration and production companies. Its primary business is the operation of land-based drilling rigs, supported by services such as directional drilling, managed pressure drilling, digital rig technologies and other solutions designed to improve drilling performance, safety and efficiency.

The company also provides completion and production services, including well servicing, camp and equipment rentals, and other support activities used during the construction, maintenance and production phases of oil and gas wells.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.