RPC (NYSE:RES) Sets New 1-Year High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• RPC hit a new 52-week high, trading up to $8.16 (last $7.8450) on heavy volume, but analysts remain cautious with a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Reduce" and a $5.50 price target.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $0.04, missing estimates by $0.03 while revenue rose 26.9% year-over-year to $425.8M; the shares trade at a high P/E of 52.3 despite strong liquidity (current ratio 3.24) and minimal debt (debt/equity 0.03).
• RPC pays a quarterly dividend of $0.04 (a 2.0% yield) but has a very high payout ratio of 106.67%, and about 41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

RPC, Inc. (NYSE:RES - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $8.16 and last traded at $7.8450, with a volume of 2090222 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $8.00.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on RES. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on RPC from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen cut RPC from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of RPC in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $5.50.

RPC Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $6.67 and a 200-day moving average of $5.93. The company has a quick ratio of 2.70, a current ratio of 3.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.30 and a beta of 0.61.

RPC (NYSE:RES - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.03). RPC had a net margin of 1.97% and a return on equity of 5.24%. The business had revenue of $425.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $423.30 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.06 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 26.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that RPC, Inc. will post 0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RPC Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.04 per share. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 10th. RPC's payout ratio is currently 106.67%.

Institutional Trading of RPC

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RES. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in RPC by 220.6% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,533 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 4,495 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in RPC by 243.4% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,681 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 6,153 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in RPC by 940.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 9,113 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 8,237 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in RPC during the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its holdings in RPC by 88.2% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,316 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 4,365 shares during the last quarter. 41.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

RPC Company Profile

RPC, Inc NYSE: RES provides essential equipment and services to companies engaged in the exploration, production and maintenance of oil and natural gas wells. The firm operates as an equity interest holding company, partnering with a network of independent service businesses to deliver a comprehensive suite of offerings for well completion and production operations.

Through its affiliated service companies, RPC offers pressure pumping and fracturing services, coiled tubing and nitrogen pumping, downhole tools and telemetry solutions, well intervention and workover services, along with rental tools and supply-chain logistics.

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