Precision Drilling (NYSE:PDS) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Precision Drilling Corporation (NYSE:PDS) (TSE:PD) shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $105.23 and last traded at $104.3810, with a volume of 140,695 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $99.96.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Precision Drilling in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Zacks Research raised Precision Drilling from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. TD Securities raised Precision Drilling from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $116.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. National Bank Financial raised shares of Precision Drilling from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Precision Drilling in a research report on Wednesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.25.

Precision Drilling Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.46. The company has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a P/E ratio of -199.27 and a beta of 0.95. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $88.36 and its 200 day moving average is $87.58.

Precision Drilling (NYSE:PDS) (TSE:PD) last announced its earnings results 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). Precision Drilling had a negative net margin of 0.24% and a positive return on equity of 3.85%. The business had revenue of $319.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $310.70 million. As a group, analysts predict that Precision Drilling Corporation will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Precision Drilling

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PDS. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Precision Drilling by 67.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 195,598 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Precision Drilling by 37.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 288,013 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,340,000 after buying an additional 77,775 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Precision Drilling by 24.3% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 373,936 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $36,803,000 after buying an additional 73,084 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Precision Drilling by 129.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 114,706 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $11,287,000 after buying an additional 64,735 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Precision Drilling by 540.1% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 25,392 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,499,000 after buying an additional 21,425 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 48.86% of the company’s stock.

Precision Drilling Company Profile

Precision Drilling Corporation is an oilfield services company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. The company provides contract drilling and related services to oil and natural gas exploration and production companies, with operations serving customers primarily in Canada and the United States as well as selected international markets.

Its Contract Drilling Services segment operates land-based drilling rigs and provides associated equipment, personnel and technical expertise. Precision also offers directional drilling and other technologies designed to support the construction of complex horizontal and extended-reach wells.

Through its Completion and Production Services business, the company provides well servicing, snubbing, rental equipment, camp and catering services, and other support activities used during well completion, maintenance and production.