Precision Drilling (NYSE:PDS) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Precision Drilling (NYSE:PDS) (TSE:PD) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday.

PDS has been the topic of several other reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Precision Drilling in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Precision Drilling in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 target price (up from $81.00) on shares of Precision Drilling in a research report on Tuesday. Zacks Research raised shares of Precision Drilling from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, ATB Cormark Capital Markets raised shares of Precision Drilling to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold 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 $114.50.

Precision Drilling Stock Performance

Shares of PDS opened at $88.21 on Friday. Precision Drilling has a 1 year low of $36.20 and a 1 year high of $92.40. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.74. The company has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -226.17 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.62.

Precision Drilling (NYSE:PDS) (TSE:PD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The oil and gas company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.26. Precision Drilling had a return on equity of 4.12% and a net margin of 0.05%.The company had revenue of $349.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $489.80 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Precision Drilling will post 7.1 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Precision Drilling

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FIL Ltd grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $61,017,000 after buying an additional 847,227 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Precision Drilling in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $20,979,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Precision Drilling by 275.5% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 387,598 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $18,338,000 after acquiring an additional 284,384 shares in the last quarter. Aegis Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Precision Drilling by 110.0% during the third quarter. Aegis Financial Corp now owns 452,359 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $25,486,000 after purchasing an additional 236,963 shares during the period. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its position in shares of Precision Drilling by 100.0% during the third quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 245,981 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $13,851,000 after purchasing an additional 122,974 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.