Nabors Industries (NYSE:NBR) Shares Up 6.5% - Should You Buy?

Nabors Industries Ltd. (NYSE:NBR - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 6.5% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $31.68 and last traded at $32.09. Approximately 30,915 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 375,228 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.12.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NBR. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Nabors Industries from $75.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Nabors Industries from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. 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 cut their target price on shares of Nabors Industries from $32.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report 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 analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $42.86.

Nabors Industries Price Performance

The stock's 50-day moving average price is $28.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.16. The firm has a market cap of $527.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.50 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.95.

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

Institutional Trading of Nabors Industries

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Nabors Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of Nabors Industries by 234.9% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 720 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Nabors Industries by 520.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,073 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Nabors Industries by 3,866.7% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,309 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,276 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Nabors Industries during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $97,000. 81.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.