RPC, Inc. (NYSE:RES) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

RPC, Inc. (NYSE:RES) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 18,240,000 shares, an increase of 25.4% from the July 15th total of 14,550,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,820,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 10.0 days. Currently, 19.2% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RPC

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of RES. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in RPC by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,401,619 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $10,204,000 after purchasing an additional 153,518 shares during the last quarter. Glenorchy Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of RPC during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $925,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of RPC by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,684,052 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $63,221,000 after buying an additional 579,638 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of RPC by 31.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 777,986 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,022,000 after acquiring an additional 188,377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Partnership Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in RPC during the 4th quarter valued at $1,855,000. Institutional investors own 41.06% of the company’s stock.

RPC Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE RES traded down $0.03 on Thursday, reaching $6.28. The company had a trading volume of 1,760,296 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,711,883. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $6.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $6.96. RPC has a 12 month low of $5.66 and a 12 month high of $9.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a PE ratio of 8.97 and a beta of 1.59.

RPC (NYSE:RES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $364.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $381.18 million. RPC had a return on equity of 11.52% and a net margin of 8.08%. The company’s revenue was down 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.30 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that RPC will post 0.56 EPS for the current year.

RPC Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a dividend of $0.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.55%. RPC’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RES has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of RPC from $6.75 to $5.25 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on RPC from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price target on RPC from $7.00 to $6.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th.

About RPC

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.