RPC (NYSE:RES) Stock Price Down 3.9% on Disappointing Earnings

Shares of RPC, Inc. (NYSE:RES) fell 3.9% during trading on Friday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as low as $7.04 and last traded at $7.07. 1,139,163 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 30% from the average session volume of 1,616,390 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.36.

The oil and gas company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $377.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $393.33 million. RPC had a return on equity of 21.26% and a net margin of 12.06%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.39 EPS.

RPC Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 53.18%. This is a positive change from RPC’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. RPC’s payout ratio is currently 17.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of RPC from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On RPC

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in RPC by 274.1% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 8,277,488 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $60,260,000 after purchasing an additional 6,064,627 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in RPC by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,684,052 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $63,221,000 after purchasing an additional 579,638 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in RPC by 48.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,507,687 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $13,479,000 after purchasing an additional 490,538 shares during the period. Partnership Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of RPC during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,855,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of RPC by 41.4% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 761,195 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,805,000 after buying an additional 222,888 shares during the last quarter. 41.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

RPC Stock Down 3.9 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $7.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.53. The stock has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a PE ratio of 8.08 and a beta of 1.60.

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.