RPC, Inc. (NYSE:RES) Short Interest Down 18.1% in March

RPC, Inc. (NYSE:RES - Get Free Report) saw a significant decline in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 15,440,000 shares, a decline of 18.1% from the March 15th total of 18,860,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,710,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 9.0 days. Currently, 16.1% of the company's stock are short sold.

RPC Trading Up 4.0 %

NYSE RES traded up $0.20 on Wednesday, hitting $5.20. 85,236 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,719,430. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $5.31 and a 200 day moving average of $5.91. RPC has a twelve month low of $4.10 and a twelve month high of $8.14. The company has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.09 and a beta of 1.27.

RPC (NYSE:RES - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.06. RPC had a net margin of 6.46% and a return on equity of 8.62%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that RPC will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

RPC Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. RPC's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup upgraded RPC from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $5.50 to $4.75 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on RPC from $6.00 to $5.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On RPC

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in RES. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in RPC by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 48,368 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 1,697 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of RPC by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 48,030 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $285,000 after acquiring an additional 1,758 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of RPC by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 21,950 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $130,000 after acquiring an additional 1,850 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of RPC by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 40,082 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 2,288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SummerHaven Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of RPC by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 134,642 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $741,000 after acquiring an additional 2,346 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.06% of the company's stock.

About RPC

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.