Short Interest in Precision Drilling Corporation (NYSE:PDS) Decreases By 25.2%

Key Points

• Short Interest Decline: Precision Drilling Corporation experienced a significant 25.2% decline in short interest in August, with the total short interest dropping to 344,300 shares.
• Hedge Fund Activity: Institutional investors increased their holdings, with notable increases from Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. and Russell Investments Group Ltd., bringing institutional ownership to 48.86% of the stock.
• Earnings Report: The company reported earnings of $0.77 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, despite revenue falling short of estimates at $299.14 million.

Precision Drilling Corporation (NYSE:PDS - Get Free Report) TSE: PD saw a large drop in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 344,300 shares, a drop of 25.2% from the August 15th total of 460,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 93,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days. Currently, 2.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Currently, 2.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 93,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Precision Drilling Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PDS traded down $0.93 during trading on Friday, reaching $57.02. The stock had a trading volume of 92,348 shares, compared to its average volume of 73,551. Precision Drilling has a 52 week low of $36.20 and a 52 week high of $67.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $751.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.00 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.58.

Precision Drilling (NYSE:PDS - Get Free Report) TSE: PD last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.79. Precision Drilling had a net margin of 5.67% and a return on equity of 6.21%. The company had revenue of $299.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $435.47 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Precision Drilling will post 7.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PDS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research cut shares of Precision Drilling from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $74.00 price target (up from $72.00) on shares of Precision Drilling in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Precision Drilling from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $87.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Precision Drilling

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PDS. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in Precision Drilling by 31.7% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 11,163 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $520,000 after buying an additional 2,686 shares in the last quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Precision Drilling in the 1st quarter worth about $3,192,000. Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Precision Drilling in the 1st quarter worth about $2,594,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Precision Drilling by 157.6% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 16,418 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $763,000 after purchasing an additional 10,045 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Precision Drilling by 15.9% in the 1st quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 106,189 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $4,951,000 after purchasing an additional 14,588 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 48.86% of the company's stock.

Precision Drilling Company Profile

Precision Drilling Corporation, a drilling company, provides onshore drilling, completion, and production services to exploration and production companies in the oil and natural gas and geothermal industries in North America and the Middle East. The company operates through Contract Drilling Services and Completion and Production Services segments.