Precision Drilling Corporation (NYSE:PDS) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Precision Drilling Corporation (NYSE:PDS) (TSE:PD) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $122.3333.

A number of research firms recently commented on PDS. Wall Street Zen cut Precision Drilling from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Precision Drilling from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Precision Drilling from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Precision Drilling

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PDS. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Precision Drilling during the 1st quarter worth about $45,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Precision Drilling in the third quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Precision Drilling in the second quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Precision Drilling by 112.9% during the fourth quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 802 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 7,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its position in Precision Drilling by 52.3% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,188 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. 48.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Precision Drilling Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of PDS opened at $90.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.80. Precision Drilling has a 1-year low of $53.42 and a 1-year high of $103.80. The stock has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.06 and a beta of 0.81.

Precision Drilling (NYSE:PDS) (TSE:PD) last issued 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 for 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Precision Drilling will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.