Wall Street Zen Downgrades Precision Drilling (NYSE:PDS) to Hold

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Precision Drilling from “buy” to “hold,” while analyst opinions remain mixed; MarketBeat reports a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $122.33.
• Precision Drilling shares opened at $75.65 after a 1.7% decline, compared with a 52-week range of $52.53 to $103.80. The company has a market capitalization of approximately $972 million and a negative P/E ratio of -36.19.
• Institutional investors increased their positions substantially, and hedge funds and other institutions now own 48.86% of the company’s stock.

Precision Drilling (NYSE:PDS - Get Free Report) TSE: PD was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Sunday.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on PDS. Zacks Research lowered shares of Precision Drilling from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. TD Securities restated a "hold" rating on shares of Precision Drilling in a report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings cut Precision Drilling from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Precision Drilling in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Precision Drilling in a report on Friday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Precision Drilling currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $122.33.

Precision Drilling Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE:PDS opened at $75.65 on Friday. Precision Drilling has a one year low of $52.53 and a one year high of $103.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.46. The firm has a market cap of $972.05 million, a P/E ratio of -36.19 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.84.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. FIL Ltd grew its holdings in 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. acquired a new position in shares of Precision Drilling during the fourth quarter worth $20,979,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Precision Drilling by 11,668,900.0% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 116,690 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $8,388,000 after purchasing an additional 116,689 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Precision Drilling by 24.9% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 483,937 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $27,262,000 after purchasing an additional 96,339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Precision Drilling by 37.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 288,013 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $28,340,000 after purchasing an additional 77,775 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 48.86% of the company's stock.

About Precision Drilling

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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