Precision Drilling (NYSE:PDS) Lowered to “Sector Perform” at National Bank Financial

Precision Drilling (NYSE:PDS) (TSE:PD) was downgraded by equities research analysts at National Bank Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Briefing.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on PDS. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Precision Drilling from C$100.00 to C$110.00 in a report on Friday, July 28th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Precision Drilling from C$110.00 to C$115.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Precision Drilling from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 27th. TheStreet raised shares of Precision Drilling from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Precision Drilling from C$130.00 to C$135.00 in a research note on Friday, September 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Precision Drilling presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.71.

Precision Drilling Stock Performance

NYSE:PDS opened at $58.78 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Precision Drilling has a twelve month low of $41.56 and a twelve month high of $86.94. The company has a fifty day moving average of $62.60 and a 200-day moving average of $57.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $855.84 million, a P/E ratio of 8.89 and a beta of 2.33.

Precision Drilling (NYSE:PDS) (TSE:PD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The oil and gas company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.41). The company had revenue of $333.04 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $328.62 million. Precision Drilling had a net margin of 7.52% and a return on equity of 10.90%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Precision Drilling will post 8.99 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Precision Drilling

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of Montreal Can purchased a new stake in shares of Precision Drilling during the second quarter valued at approximately $24,081,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in Precision Drilling by 95.0% in the third quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 466,048 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $31,344,000 after acquiring an additional 227,077 shares during the period. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Precision Drilling by 28.6% in the second quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 742,285 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $36,259,000 after acquiring an additional 165,013 shares during the period. NewGen Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in Precision Drilling in the first quarter valued at about $7,687,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Precision Drilling by 160.3% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 235,475 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $12,108,000 after acquiring an additional 145,027 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 39.16% of the company’s stock.

Precision Drilling Company Profile

Precision Drilling Corporation, a drilling company, provides onshore drilling, completion, and production services to exploration and production companies in the oil and natural gas and geothermal industries in North America and the Middle East. The company operates in two segments, Contract Drilling Services and Completion and Production Services.