Short Interest in Nabors Industries Ltd. (NYSE:NBR) Increases By 26.5%

Nabors Industries Ltd. (NYSE:NBR - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,290,000 shares, a growth of 26.5% from the January 31st total of 1,020,000 shares. Approximately 15.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 325,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.0 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nabors Industries

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Miller Value Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nabors Industries by 99.5% during the 4th quarter. Miller Value Partners LLC now owns 281,195 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $16,076,000 after purchasing an additional 140,230 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in shares of Nabors Industries by 300.7% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 90,686 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $5,185,000 after purchasing an additional 135,877 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Nabors Industries during the 4th quarter valued at $6,602,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nabors Industries by 669.9% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 72,792 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $4,162,000 after purchasing an additional 85,565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Nabors Industries by 74.6% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 196,108 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $11,211,000 after purchasing an additional 83,790 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.92% of the company's stock.

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Nabors Industries Trading Up 2.8 %

Nabors Industries stock traded up $1.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $41.39. The stock had a trading volume of 580,319 shares, compared to its average volume of 300,967. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $54.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $65.08. Nabors Industries has a twelve month low of $34.42 and a twelve month high of $105.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.95, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.52. The firm has a market cap of $397.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.85 and a beta of 2.08.

Nabors Industries (NYSE:NBR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The oil and gas company reported ($6.67) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.86) by ($4.81). Nabors Industries had a negative net margin of 5.93% and a negative return on equity of 32.96%. Equities analysts anticipate that Nabors Industries will post -6.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Nabors Industries from $90.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $79.40.

About Nabors Industries

Nabors Industries Ltd. provides drilling and drilling-related services for land-based and offshore oil and natural gas wells in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: U.S. Drilling, International Drilling, Drilling Solutions, and Rig Technologies. It provides tubular running services, including casing and tubing running, and torque monitoring; managed pressure drilling services; and drilling-bit steering systems and rig instrumentation software.