Van ECK Associates Corp Trims Stock Holdings in RPC, Inc. (NYSE:RES)

Van ECK Associates Corp decreased its holdings in RPC, Inc. (NYSE:RES) by 11.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,978,703 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 369,927 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in RPC were worth $21,685,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Glenorchy Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of RPC in the fourth quarter worth about $925,000. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its position in RPC by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 50,303 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $366,000 after purchasing an additional 3,680 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its position in RPC by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 51,799 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $377,000 after purchasing an additional 5,723 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in RPC by 67.3% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,580 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,843 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in RPC by 154.7% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 22,704 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $165,000 after purchasing an additional 13,789 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.06% of the company’s stock.

RPC Stock Performance

Shares of RES opened at $6.69 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.56 and a beta of 1.60. RPC, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $6.34 and a fifty-two week high of $9.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $7.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $7.49.

RPC (NYSE:RES) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.19 by ($0.06). RPC had a return on equity of 15.02% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm had revenue of $377.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $393.33 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.39 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 20.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that RPC, Inc. will post 0.71 earnings per share for the current year.

RPC Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 56.20%. This is an increase from RPC’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. RPC’s payout ratio is presently 22.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of RPC from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 26th.

RPC Company Profile

RPC, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages provision of a range of oilfield services and equipment for the oil and gas companies involved in the exploration, production, and development of oil and gas properties. The company operates through Technical Services and Support Services segments. The Technical Services segment offers pressure pumping, fracturing, acidizing, cementing, downhole tools, coiled tubing, snubbing, nitrogen, well control, wireline, pump down, and fishing services that are used in the completion, production, and maintenance of oil and gas wells.