RPC (NYSE:RES) Stock Price Down 5.6% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Shares fell 5.6% to about $6.69 on Wednesday (trading as low as $6.75) with intraday volume ~1.35M, roughly 46% below the stock's average session volume; market cap is about $1.49B and the 50-/200-day moving averages are $6.30 and $5.61 respectively.
• Wall Street sentiment has cooled to an overall "Reduce" stance — four Holds and one Sell — with a consensus target price of $5.25 despite some recent $6.00 targets and downgrades from Buy to Hold.
• RPC missed quarterly EPS ($0.04 vs. $0.07 expected) though revenue rose 26.9% year-over-year, and it pays a $0.04 quarterly dividend (2.4% yield) with a payout ratio of 106.67%, signalling the dividend may be high relative to earnings.

RPC, Inc. (NYSE:RES - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 5.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $6.75 and last traded at $6.6850. 1,349,103 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 46% from the average session volume of 2,521,026 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.08.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of RPC in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Susquehanna increased their target price on RPC from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Citigroup lifted their price target on RPC from $5.75 to $6.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Wall Street Zen cut RPC from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of RPC in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, RPC presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $5.25.

RPC Trading Down 5.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 3.24 and a quick ratio of 2.70. The company has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.77 and a beta of 0.69. The business's fifty day moving average price is $6.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.61.

RPC (NYSE:RES - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $425.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $423.30 million. RPC had a return on equity of 5.24% and a net margin of 1.97%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 26.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.06 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that RPC, Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RPC Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 10th were paid a $0.04 dividend. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 10th. RPC's payout ratio is currently 106.67%.

Institutional Trading of RPC

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allianz Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in shares of RPC in the 3rd quarter valued at $491,000. Congress Asset Management Co. bought a new position in RPC during the third quarter worth $5,959,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in RPC by 31.5% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,800,246 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $13,245,000 after buying an additional 670,432 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in RPC by 8.4% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,960,190 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $18,851,000 after buying an additional 308,361 shares during the period. Finally, Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in RPC by 100.4% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 429,767 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,046,000 after acquiring an additional 215,350 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.06% of the company's stock.

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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