Nabors Industries (NYSE:NBR) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Nabors Industries Ltd. (NYSE:NBR)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $72.01, but opened at $74.13. Nabors Industries shares last traded at $74.70, with a volume of 15,059 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NBR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Nabors Industries from $94.00 to $85.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Nabors Industries from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Nabors Industries from $110.00 to $88.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $102.00 price target on shares of Nabors Industries in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Nabors Industries from $79.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.00.

Nabors Industries Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $754.45 million, a PE ratio of -4.30 and a beta of 2.09. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.43, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

Institutional Trading of Nabors Industries

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in Nabors Industries in the third quarter worth about $45,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Nabors Industries by 2,022.2% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 764 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 728 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nabors Industries by 52.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,364 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Nabors Industries in the second quarter worth $159,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Nabors Industries by 5.3% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,567 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $254,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. 81.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Nabors Industries

Nabors Industries Ltd. provides drilling and drilling-related services for land-based and offshore oil and natural gas wells in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: U.S. Drilling, International Drilling, Drilling Solutions, and Rig Technologies. It provides tubular running services, including casing and tubing running, and torque monitoring; managed pressure drilling services; and drilling-bit steering systems and rig instrumentation software.