Precision Drilling Co. (NYSE:PDS) Short Interest Update

Precision Drilling Co. (NYSE:PDS) (TSE:PD) saw a significant drop in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 347,500 shares, a drop of 20.4% from the July 15th total of 436,400 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 51,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.8 days. Currently, 2.5% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Precision Drilling

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PDS. Ninepoint Partners LP acquired a new position in Precision Drilling in the 4th quarter valued at $74,649,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Precision Drilling in the 4th quarter worth approximately $88,000. Intact Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Precision Drilling by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 85,850 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,662,000 after purchasing an additional 3,900 shares in the last quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Precision Drilling by 25.1% during the 4th quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 59,627 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,237,000 after acquiring an additional 11,955 shares during the period. Finally, NewGen Asset Management Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Precision Drilling by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. NewGen Asset Management Ltd now owns 123,970 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,730,000 after purchasing an additional 27,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 48.86% of the company’s stock.

Precision Drilling Stock Performance

PDS traded down $0.90 on Friday, reaching $69.89. 24,952 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 69,786. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $70.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $999.57 million, a PE ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 2.03. Precision Drilling has a fifty-two week low of $49.67 and a fifty-two week high of $79.07.

Precision Drilling (NYSE:PDS) (TSE:PD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.62) by $2.06. Precision Drilling had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 11.68%. The firm had revenue of $429.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $310.13 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Precision Drilling will post 5.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Precision Drilling from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Precision Drilling from $101.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $118.33.

About Precision Drilling

Precision Drilling Corporation, a drilling company, provides onshore drilling, completion, and production services to exploration and production companies in the oil and natural gas and geothermal industries in North America and the Middle East. The company operates through Contract Drilling Services and Completion and Production Services segments.