Precision Drilling (NYSE:PDS) Rating Lowered to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Precision Drilling (NYSE:PDS) (TSE:PD) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on PDS. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Precision Drilling in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Precision Drilling from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 22nd. Weiss Ratings cut Precision Drilling from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Precision Drilling in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Precision Drilling from $124.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.33.

Precision Drilling Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PDS opened at $75.62 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $977.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -80.45 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Precision Drilling has a twelve month low of $48.59 and a twelve month high of $103.80.

Institutional Trading of Precision Drilling

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PDS. FIL Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Precision Drilling by 27,294.7% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 850,331 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $61,017,000 after purchasing an additional 847,227 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in Precision Drilling by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 735,460 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $41,265,000 after buying an additional 4,236 shares during the period. Aegis Financial Corp increased its position in Precision Drilling by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Aegis Financial Corp now owns 504,059 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $36,221,000 after acquiring an additional 51,700 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Precision Drilling by 67.0% during the first quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 487,434 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $47,957,000 after buying an additional 195,598 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Precision Drilling by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 483,937 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $27,262,000 after acquiring an additional 96,339 shares during the period. 48.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Precision Drilling Company Profile

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.