RPC (NYSE:RES) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

RPC, Inc. (NYSE:RES - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $5.00, but opened at $4.61. RPC shares last traded at $4.76, with a volume of 1,771,053 shares traded.

The oil and gas company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $420.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $421.08 million. RPC had a return on equity of 5.65% and a net margin of 3.77%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.15 EPS.

RPC Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. RPC's payout ratio is 61.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RES has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on RPC from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on RPC from $5.50 to $5.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Piper Sandler set a $5.00 price objective on RPC and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Citigroup raised RPC from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $5.50 to $4.75 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RPC

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of RES. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new position in RPC in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,632,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in RPC by 690.7% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 657,981 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,908,000 after purchasing an additional 574,765 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in RPC by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,620,598 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $69,025,000 after purchasing an additional 459,700 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in RPC in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,299,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in RPC by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,388,807 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $18,638,000 after purchasing an additional 349,226 shares during the period. 41.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

RPC Stock Up 3.0%

The company has a current ratio of 2.64, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of 19.02 and a beta of 0.85.

About RPC

RPC, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages provision of a range of oilfield services and equipment for the oil and gas companies involved in the exploration, production, and development of oil and gas properties. The company operates through Technical Services and Support Services segments. The Technical Services segment offers pressure pumping, fracturing, acidizing, cementing, downhole tools, coiled tubing, snubbing, nitrogen, well control, wireline, pump down, and fishing services that are used in the completion, production, and maintenance of oil and gas wells.