Nabors Industries (NYSE:NBR) Shares Gap Up - Should You Buy?

Nabors Industries Ltd. (NYSE:NBR - Get Free Report) shares gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $32.07, but opened at $32.95. Nabors Industries shares last traded at $33.98, with a volume of 60,010 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on NBR shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Nabors Industries from $75.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Barclays reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $28.00 price target (down previously from $53.00) on shares of Nabors Industries in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Nabors Industries from $50.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Nabors Industries from $32.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Nabors Industries from $38.00 to $25.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $42.86.

Nabors Industries Trading Up 1.7%

The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $540.69 million, a P/E ratio of -1.54 and a beta of 1.52. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $28.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.44.

Nabors Industries (NYSE:NBR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The oil and gas company reported ($7.50) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($2.64) by ($4.86). Nabors Industries had a negative net margin of 5.93% and a negative return on equity of 32.96%. The company had revenue of $742.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $706.49 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($4.54) EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Nabors Industries Ltd. will post -6.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Nabors Industries

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brigade Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Nabors Industries in the first quarter valued at $37,653,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Nabors Industries by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 696,155 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $39,799,000 after buying an additional 18,017 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its stake in shares of Nabors Industries by 445.5% in the 1st quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 600,000 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $25,026,000 after buying an additional 490,000 shares in the last quarter. Apollo Management Holdings L.P. raised its stake in shares of Nabors Industries by 26.2% in the 1st quarter. Apollo Management Holdings L.P. now owns 421,836 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $17,595,000 after buying an additional 87,552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Nabors Industries by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 299,206 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $12,480,000 after acquiring an additional 13,391 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.92% of the company's stock.

About Nabors Industries

Nabors Industries Ltd. provides drilling and drilling-related services for land-based and offshore oil and natural gas wells in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: U.S. Drilling, International Drilling, Drilling Solutions, and Rig Technologies. It provides tubular running services, including casing and tubing running, and torque monitoring; managed pressure drilling services; and drilling-bit steering systems and rig instrumentation software.