RPC (NYSE:RES) Stock Price Down 3.9% Following Analyst Downgrade

RPC, Inc. (NYSE:RES - Get Free Report) shares were down 3.9% on Monday after Susquehanna lowered their price target on the stock from $6.50 to $6.00. Susquehanna currently has a neutral rating on the stock. RPC traded as low as $5.74 and last traded at $5.74. Approximately 694,788 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 1,722,234 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.97.

RES has been the subject of several other reports. Citigroup reduced their price target on RPC from $6.75 to $5.25 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of RPC from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 11th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On RPC

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RES. Wasatch Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of RPC in the first quarter valued at about $1,239,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in RPC by 0.7% during the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,998,405 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $23,207,000 after acquiring an additional 19,702 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of RPC by 7.2% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 102,009 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $790,000 after purchasing an additional 6,847 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in shares of RPC in the first quarter valued at approximately $156,000. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its stake in RPC by 198.2% in the 1st quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 123,811 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $958,000 after purchasing an additional 82,293 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 41.06% of the company's stock.

RPC Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.43 and a beta of 1.55. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.57.

RPC (NYSE:RES - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $337.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $365.33 million. RPC had a return on equity of 11.36% and a net margin of 8.07%. RPC's revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.08 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that RPC, Inc. will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RPC Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be given a dividend of $0.04 per share. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. RPC's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.57%.

RPC Company Profile

RPC, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages provision of a range of oilfield services and equipment for the oil and gas companies involved in the exploration, production, and development of oil and gas properties. The company operates through Technical Services and Support Services segments. The Technical Services segment offers pressure pumping, fracturing, acidizing, cementing, downhole tools, coiled tubing, snubbing, nitrogen, well control, wireline, pump down, and fishing services that are used in the completion, production, and maintenance of oil and gas wells.