RPC (NYSE:RES) Shares Up 4.8% – Should You Buy?

RPC, Inc. (NYSE:RES) shares traded up 4.8% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $6.14 and last traded at $6.12. 217,652 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 1,673,083 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.84.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on RES. Susquehanna lowered their price target on RPC from $6.50 to $6.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of RPC from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 11th.

RPC Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.28 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.31.

RPC (NYSE:RES) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $337.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $365.33 million. RPC had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 11.36%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.08 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that RPC, Inc. will post 0.43 earnings per share for the current year.

RPC Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a $0.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.53%. RPC’s payout ratio is currently 28.57%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RPC

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in RPC by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 51,819 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 1,869 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of RPC by 6.1% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 40,082 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 2,288 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of RPC by 8.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 46,272 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 3,633 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of RPC by 17.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 24,393 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $189,000 after purchasing an additional 3,650 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in RPC by 256.5% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,112 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 3,678 shares during the last quarter. 41.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.