Short Interest in Precision Drilling Co. (NYSE:PDS) Declines By 22.1%

Precision Drilling Co. (NYSE:PDS) (TSE:PD) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 184,100 shares, a drop of 22.1% from the September 30th total of 236,200 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 57,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days. Currently, 1.3% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PDS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Precision Drilling from $95.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Precision Drilling from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st.

Precision Drilling Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE:PDS traded up $0.68 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $58.85. 83,680 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 66,283. Precision Drilling has a one year low of $49.67 and a one year high of $79.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a market cap of $827.43 million, a PE ratio of 5.25 and a beta of 1.96. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $65.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.39.

Precision Drilling (NYSE:PDS) (TSE:PD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.62) by $2.06. Precision Drilling had a net margin of 11.68% and a return on equity of 9.26%. The business had revenue of $429.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $310.13 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Precision Drilling will post 6.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Precision Drilling

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PDS. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Precision Drilling by 1.3% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 12,020 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $844,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Precision Drilling by 19.9% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,660 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Precision Drilling by 2,800.0% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 522 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in Precision Drilling by 14.6% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 4,270 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $300,000 after buying an additional 545 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of Precision Drilling by 6.3% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 28,600 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,923,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares during the period. 48.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Precision Drilling

Precision Drilling Corporation, a drilling company, provides onshore drilling, completion, and production services to exploration and production companies in the oil and natural gas and geothermal industries in North America and the Middle East. The company operates through Contract Drilling Services and Completion and Production Services segments.