Precision Drilling (NYSE:PDS) Share Price Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Precision Drilling crossed above its 200‑day moving average during trading, with the 200‑day MA at $71.90 and the shares trading as high as $101.90 (last at about $98.27 on volume ~168,852), signaling a bullish technical move.
• Analysts are mixed but leaning positive: the consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $122.33 (one Strong Buy, four Buy, two Hold, one Sell), while recent actions include a Weiss Ratings downgrade to Sell and a $122 target from Loop Capital.
• Fundamentals and ownership are mixed — Q2 EPS beat ($1.37 vs. $1.11) while revenue missed ($349.4M vs. $489.8M), the company has a negative trailing PE (-251.96) and modest leverage (debt/equity 0.43), and nearly 48.9% of shares are held by institutions including a large FIL Ltd. stake.

Precision Drilling Corporation (NYSE:PDS - Get Free Report) TSE: PD's stock price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $71.90 and traded as high as $101.90. Precision Drilling shares last traded at $98.2650, with a volume of 168,852 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Securities reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Precision Drilling in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Loop Capital set a $122.00 price target on Precision Drilling in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings lowered Precision Drilling from a "hold (c)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Zacks Research upgraded Precision Drilling from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Precision Drilling from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, March 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $122.33.

Precision Drilling Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a PE ratio of -251.96 and a beta of 1.01. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $88.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.90.

Precision Drilling (NYSE:PDS - Get Free Report) TSE: PD last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The oil and gas company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $349.37 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $489.80 million. Precision Drilling had a net margin of 0.05% and a return on equity of 4.12%. On average, research analysts forecast that Precision Drilling Corporation will post 7.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Precision Drilling

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PDS. FIL Ltd raised its stake in shares of Precision Drilling by 27,294.7% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 850,331 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $61,017,000 after purchasing an additional 847,227 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Precision Drilling during the fourth quarter valued at $20,979,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Precision Drilling by 275.5% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 387,598 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $18,338,000 after buying an additional 284,384 shares in the last quarter. Aegis Financial Corp raised its position in Precision Drilling by 110.0% in the 3rd quarter. Aegis Financial Corp now owns 452,359 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $25,486,000 after buying an additional 236,963 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its position in Precision Drilling by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 245,981 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $13,851,000 after buying an additional 122,974 shares during the last quarter. 48.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Precision Drilling Company Profile

Precision Drilling Corporation NYSE: PDS is a Calgary, Alberta–based oilfield services company that has provided drilling solutions since its founding in 1951. With more than seven decades of industry experience, the company delivers contract drilling services, directional and horizontal drilling, well servicing, and a suite of specialized equipment designed to meet the evolving needs of exploration and production companies worldwide.

The company's core business activities include operating a fleet of onshore drilling rigs, offering managed pressure drilling, measurement-while-drilling (MWD) and logging-while-drilling (LWD) services, and providing completion and workover rigs.

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