Zacks Research Upgrades Precision Drilling (NYSE:PDS) to Hold

Precision Drilling (NYSE:PDS) (TSE:PD) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday, Zacks reports.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Precision Drilling from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Precision Drilling in a research report on Friday, September 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.33.

Precision Drilling Stock Down 1.5%

PDS opened at $79.18 on Monday. Precision Drilling has a 1-year low of $53.42 and a 1-year high of $103.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $996.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -37.88 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a 50 day moving average of $84.94 and a 200-day moving average of $88.48.

Precision Drilling (NYSE:PDS) (TSE:PD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.38) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.81). The company had revenue of $319.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $310.70 million. Precision Drilling had a positive return on equity of 2.11% and a negative net margin of 1.68%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Precision Drilling will post 4.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Precision Drilling

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its position in shares of Precision Drilling by 70.8% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 31,802 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,438,000 after buying an additional 13,188 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its stake in Precision Drilling by 21.2% in the 2nd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 12,341 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $929,000 after buying an additional 2,155 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Precision Drilling in the second quarter valued at $557,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in Precision Drilling in the second quarter valued at $190,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Precision Drilling by 129.5% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 114,706 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $11,287,000 after acquiring an additional 64,735 shares in the last quarter. 48.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Precision Drilling Company Profile

Precision Drilling Corporation is a Canadian oilfield services company that provides contract drilling and well-servicing solutions to oil and natural gas exploration and production companies. The company is headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, and trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol PDS.

Its primary business is contract drilling, including the provision of land-based drilling rigs, crews and related equipment used to construct oil and gas wells.