Precision Drilling (NYSE:PDS) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Precision Drilling Corporation (NYSE:PDS) (TSE:PD)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday. The stock had previously closed at $87.17, but opened at $90.42. Precision Drilling shares last traded at $89.3180, with a volume of 23,459 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PDS. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Precision Drilling in a report on Friday, September 18th. TD Securities upgraded Precision Drilling from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Precision Drilling from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 9th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Precision Drilling from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Precision Drilling currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.33.

Precision Drilling Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $86.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.72 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Precision Drilling (NYSE:PDS) (TSE:PD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.38) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.81). Precision Drilling had a positive return on equity of 2.11% and a negative net margin of 1.68%. The business had revenue of $319.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $310.70 million. On average, analysts expect that Precision Drilling Corporation will post 4.83 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Precision Drilling by 67.0% during the 1st quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 487,434 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $47,957,000 after buying an additional 195,598 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew 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 valued at $28,340,000 after buying an additional 77,775 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Precision Drilling by 24.3% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 373,936 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $36,803,000 after buying an additional 73,084 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Precision Drilling by 129.5% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 114,706 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $11,287,000 after buying an additional 64,735 shares during the period. Finally, Equinox Partners Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Precision Drilling by 116.6% in the first quarter. Equinox Partners Investment Management LLC now owns 65,211 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,415,000 after buying an additional 35,100 shares during the period. 48.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Precision Drilling

Precision Drilling Corporation is an oilfield services company that provides contract drilling and related services to oil and natural gas exploration and production companies. Its primary business is the operation of land-based drilling rigs, supported by services such as directional drilling, managed pressure drilling, digital rig technologies and other solutions designed to improve drilling performance, safety and efficiency.

The company also provides completion and production services, including well servicing, camp and equipment rentals, and other support activities used during the construction, maintenance and production phases of oil and gas wells.