Van ECK Associates Corp Reduces Position in RPC, Inc. (NYSE:RES)

Van ECK Associates Corp decreased its holdings in shares of RPC, Inc. (NYSE:RES) by 18.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,231,736 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 516,059 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 1.04% of RPC worth $14,038,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of RES. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in RPC by 540.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,560 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 3,848 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of RPC by 256.5% in the second 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. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in RPC in the 2nd quarter worth about $44,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in RPC during the 1st quarter valued at about $110,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its holdings in RPC by 38.7% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 14,821 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 4,136 shares in the last quarter. 41.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

RPC Stock Performance

NYSE RES opened at $5.88 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a PE ratio of 10.50 and a beta of 1.58. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $6.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.48. RPC, Inc. has a 52-week low of $5.63 and a 52-week high of $8.34.

RPC (NYSE:RES) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.13 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $337.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $365.33 million. RPC had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 11.36%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.08 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that RPC, Inc. will post 0.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

RPC Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be given a dividend of $0.04 per share. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. RPC’s payout ratio is 28.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of RPC from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on RPC from $6.50 to $6.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on RPC from $6.75 to $5.25 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th.

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.