Nabors Industries Ltd. (NYSE:NBR) Short Interest Down 24.1% in March

Key Points

• Short interest fell 24.1% in March to 927,759 shares (about 6.7% of the stock) with a short-interest ratio of 2.8 days.
• Nabors beat quarterly expectations, reporting $0.17 EPS vs. a -$2.93 consensus and revenue of $797.5M (+9% YoY), though analysts still forecast -6.22 EPS for the year and assign an average rating of "Hold" with a $74.38 target.
• Institutional investors own 81.92% of the company; Adage Capital increased its stake 62.6% to 1.26M shares (~$68.4M) and several other large managers also raised positions.

Nabors Industries Ltd. (NYSE:NBR - Get Free Report) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 927,759 shares, a decline of 24.1% from the March 15th total of 1,222,472 shares. Currently, 6.7% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 329,368 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nabors Industries

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its holdings in Nabors Industries by 62.6% in the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,260,000 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $68,418,000 after purchasing an additional 485,000 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Nabors Industries by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 871,047 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $47,298,000 after acquiring an additional 13,424 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its position in shares of Nabors Industries by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 499,147 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $27,104,000 after purchasing an additional 9,640 shares during the period. Highbridge Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nabors Industries by 26.9% in the 3rd quarter. Highbridge Capital Management LLC now owns 491,795 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $20,100,000 after purchasing an additional 104,219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Nabors Industries by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 485,346 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $26,354,000 after purchasing an additional 66,640 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.92% of the company's stock.

Nabors Industries Trading Down 6.5%

NYSE NBR opened at $79.15 on Wednesday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $78.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.45. Nabors Industries has a one year low of $23.27 and a one year high of $92.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 1.56. The firm has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a PE ratio of 4.80 and a beta of 0.87.

Nabors Industries (NYSE:NBR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The oil and gas company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($2.93) by $3.10. The firm had revenue of $797.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $795.82 million. Nabors Industries had a negative return on equity of 17.63% and a net margin of 8.92%.The business's revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($6.67) earnings per share. Analysts expect that Nabors Industries will post -6.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Nabors Industries in a report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Nabors Industries in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group set a $70.00 target price on shares of Nabors Industries in a report on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Nabors Industries from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Nabors Industries from $50.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nabors Industries presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $74.38.

About Nabors Industries

Nabors Industries Ltd. is a global oil and gas drilling contractor that provides land and offshore drilling rigs, drilling equipment and related services to energy companies around the world. The company's operations span two core segments: drilling and evaluation, which includes land‐based and platform drilling rigs as well as wellbore survey services, and wellbore technologies, offering pressure control equipment, downhole tools and specialized maintenance services. Nabors' integrated model combines rig operations with engineered products and field support, positioning it as a full‐service provider in the upstream sector.

The company maintains a diverse, modern fleet of automated and conventional drilling rigs and has pioneered advanced drilling technologies, including automated drilling controls and managed pressure drilling systems.

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