Short Interest in Precision Drilling Co. (NYSE:PDS) Increases By 18.1%

Precision Drilling Co. (NYSE:PDS) (TSE:PD) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 267,700 shares, an increase of 18.1% from the February 13th total of 226,700 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 96,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days. Currently, 2.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PDS. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Precision Drilling from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. TD Securities cut Precision Drilling from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd.

Precision Drilling Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE PDS traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $45.49. The stock had a trading volume of 23,424 shares, compared to its average volume of 108,179. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $55.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.78. Precision Drilling has a 1 year low of $43.00 and a 1 year high of $79.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.48. The firm has a market cap of $623.51 million, a P/E ratio of 8.45 and a beta of 2.05.

Precision Drilling (NYSE:PDS) (TSE:PD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The oil and gas company reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by ($0.64). Precision Drilling had a net margin of 5.87% and a return on equity of 6.72%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Precision Drilling will post 7.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PDS. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in shares of Precision Drilling by 56.6% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 603 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Precision Drilling in the fourth quarter worth $71,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in Precision Drilling in the fourth quarter valued at $85,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Precision Drilling by 30.1% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,159 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP raised its holdings in Precision Drilling by 1,741.8% in the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 2,247 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 2,125 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 48.86% of the company’s stock.

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.