National Bank of Canada FI Buys 159,871 Shares of Precision Drilling Co. (NYSE:PDS)

National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in Precision Drilling Co. (NYSE:PDS) (TSE:PD) by 29.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 711,047 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 159,871 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 4.91% of Precision Drilling worth $50,886,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Precision Drilling in the third quarter valued at about $4,638,000. Ninepoint Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Precision Drilling during the 4th quarter worth approximately $74,649,000. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Precision Drilling by 25.1% during the 4th quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 59,627 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,237,000 after acquiring an additional 11,955 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Precision Drilling by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 48,957 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,658,000 after acquiring an additional 3,683 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Precision Drilling by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 85,850 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,662,000 after acquiring an additional 3,900 shares during the last quarter. 48.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Precision Drilling Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PDS traded down $1.47 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $71.24. 38,827 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 70,247. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $70.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.56. The stock has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 2.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Precision Drilling Co. has a one year low of $49.67 and a one year high of $78.13.

Precision Drilling (NYSE:PDS) (TSE:PD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.00 by ($0.12). Precision Drilling had a net margin of 12.00% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The firm had revenue of $391.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $399.44 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Precision Drilling Co. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on PDS. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Precision Drilling from $101.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Precision Drilling from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.50.

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.