Precision Drilling Co. (NYSE:PDS) Short Interest Up 18.1% in February

Precision Drilling Co. (NYSE:PDS - Get Free Report) TSE: PD saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of 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 presently 2.8 days. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PDS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Precision Drilling from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, March 16th. TD Securities downgraded shares of Precision Drilling from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd.

Precision Drilling Price Performance

Shares of PDS traded down $0.50 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $44.96. 58,950 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 70,982. Precision Drilling has a 52-week low of $43.00 and a 52-week 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 50-day moving average of $54.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.43. The company has a market cap of $616.31 million, a PE ratio of 8.36 and a beta of 2.05.

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Precision Drilling (NYSE:PDS - Get Free Report) TSE: PD last issued its earnings results 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 predict that Precision Drilling will post 7.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Precision Drilling

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Precision Drilling by 6.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,867 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $425,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Mountain Lake Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Precision Drilling by 107.9% during the fourth quarter. Mountain Lake Investment Management LLC now owns 51,981 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $3,174,000 after buying an additional 26,981 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Precision Drilling by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 63,114 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,961,000 after buying an additional 11,331 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of Precision Drilling by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 726,284 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $44,740,000 after acquiring an additional 10,318 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of Precision Drilling by 111.1% during the third quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 68,600 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $4,226,000 after purchasing an additional 36,100 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.