Precision Drilling Corporation (NYSE:PDS) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

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

A number of analysts recently issued reports on PDS shares. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Precision Drilling in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Precision Drilling in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut Precision Drilling from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. Zacks Research downgraded Precision Drilling from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, TD Securities restated a “hold” rating on shares of Precision Drilling in a research report on Friday, May 1st.

Precision Drilling Stock Performance

Shares of PDS stock opened at $75.65 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $83.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.84. The firm has a market cap of $972.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -36.19 and a beta of 0.78. Precision Drilling has a 1 year low of $52.53 and a 1 year high of $103.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.46.

Institutional Trading of Precision Drilling

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PDS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Precision Drilling by 180.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 37,579 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,118,000 after purchasing an additional 24,203 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Precision Drilling by 37.0% during the first 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. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake 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 worth $47,957,000 after buying an additional 195,598 shares during the period. Equinox Partners Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Precision Drilling during the fourth quarter worth about $2,161,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Precision Drilling by 11,668,900.0% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 116,690 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $8,388,000 after buying an additional 116,689 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 48.86% of the company’s stock.

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.