Precision Drilling (NYSE:PDS) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Precision Drilling Corporation (NYSE:PDS) (TSE:PD) 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

PDS has been the topic of several research reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Precision Drilling from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. TD Securities upgraded Precision Drilling from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Precision Drilling in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Precision Drilling from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.25.

Precision Drilling Stock Up 0.7%

The business’s 50 day moving average is $86.88 and its 200 day moving average is $87.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.46. The stock has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -44.00 and a beta of 0.95.

Precision Drilling (NYSE:PDS) (TSE:PD) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 negative net margin of 1.68% and a positive return on equity of 2.11%. The company had revenue of $319.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $310.70 million. Equities analysts expect that Precision Drilling Corporation will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Precision Drilling

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Precision Drilling by 67.0% in the first quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 487,434 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $47,957,000 after purchasing an additional 195,598 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Precision Drilling by 24.3% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 373,936 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $36,803,000 after buying an additional 73,084 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Precision Drilling by 37.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 288,013 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,340,000 after buying an additional 77,775 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Precision Drilling by 129.5% during the 1st 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. Finally, Equinox Partners Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Precision Drilling by 116.6% during the 1st quarter. Equinox Partners Investment Management LLC now owns 65,211 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,415,000 after acquiring an additional 35,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 48.86% of the company’s stock.

About Precision Drilling

Precision Drilling Corporation is an oilfield services company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. The company provides contract drilling and related services to oil and natural gas exploration and production companies, with operations serving customers primarily in Canada and the United States as well as selected international markets.

Its Contract Drilling Services segment operates land-based drilling rigs and provides associated equipment, personnel and technical expertise. Precision also offers directional drilling and other technologies designed to support the construction of complex horizontal and extended-reach wells.

Through its Completion and Production Services business, the company provides well servicing, snubbing, rental equipment, camp and catering services, and other support activities used during well completion, maintenance and production.