Latest news with #PrecisionDrillingCorp
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Oilpatch faces more frustration over federal environmental policies as Liberals take power again
There aren't many signs of optimism emerging from the Canadian oilpatch that a fourth-straight Liberal government in Ottawa will be a boon for energy development in Canada. Distrust of the Liberals and longstanding frustration over the party's policies on energy, including the Impact Assessment Act (Bill C-69 or the 'no-more-pipelines act') and the federal emissions cap on oil and gas, appear not to have been alleviated by Mark Carney's campaign pledge to 'build Canada strong' with a renewed focus on the economy. 'I'm troubled by the fact that most of these things the prior administration put in place, Mark Carney has not committed to altering or changing. In fact, he's committed to standing behind some of these really damaging bills,' Precision Drilling Corp. chief executive Kevin Neveu said, noting Carney's addition of a carbon border adjustment mechanism to the existing stack of emissions policies. 'When you continue focusing on these border-based carbon policies and internal carbon policies, you're putting the climate agenda as a top policy priority, which I think is wrong-minded. Completely wrong-minded.' A recent survey of energy executives and institutional investors suggests that Monday's election outcome doesn't bode well for oil and gas investment in the months and years ahead. ATB Capital Markets' annual spring energy survey of about 60 executives from oil and gas companies and energy service providers, along with 40 institutional investors, said 73 per cent of them viewed a Liberal minority government as having a negative impact on their willingness to grow or reinvest in Canadian operations or equities, with 30 per cent considering it 'significantly negative.' The survey was conducted last month, but the results were only released Tuesday because ATB's status as a Crown corporation limits what it can publish during the election period. The Canadian oilpatch and its investors viewed a Conservative government as moderately or highly favourable to energy investment, according to the survey. Federal energy and environmental policies ranked as the most pressing concern facing the Canadian energy sector for the sixth consecutive survey, ATB said. U.S. tariffs and Canada's reciprocal tariffs ranked behind access to capital on a list of the sector's top perceived risks. 'We do need to focus on sort of not doing damage to ourselves in this country,' Tristan Goodman, president of the Explorers and Producers Association of Canada, said. 'Federal policies have broadly not been constructive or positive in helping develop natural resources generally, not just in energy, but broadly in mining and other types of projects — they have been absolutely unhelpful and negative for all Canadians.' CIBC Capital Markets analyst Dennis Fong on Sunday said Canada's current regulatory environment must change in order for the sector to grow. Elongated timelines for project approvals, which cause significant budget overruns or cancellation of infrastructure projects in their entirety, could continue to drive Canadian midstream companies in particular to focus on the U.S. 'at Canada's expense,' he said. 'Unless there are significant changes to the existing approval process for major infrastructure, we find it difficult to see additional major investment being attracted to Canada,' Fong said in a note about the federal election. Many in the industry say they aren't optimistic about the possibility of a new oil pipeline being built to tidewater. 'I haven't seen anybody in the pipeline industry raise their hand yet to say that they're committing resources to considering another pipeline,' Neveu said. 'I am slightly more optimistic that additional gas capacity will come on for transporting natural gas and liquefied natural gas.' Investors and companies may also be less likely to take risks or deploy capital under an unstable minority government, analysts said, since such governments rarely last more than two years. That's a hurdle that may prove particularly relevant for proponents of decarbonization who had hoped to see the sector advance big carbon capture and storage projects such as the Pathways Alliance proposal in the oilsands. Some have also said they're concerned about the potential policy uncertainty that could come from the Liberals being forced to seek the support of either the NDP or Bloc Québécois in order to remain in power. National Bank CEO calls for new energy projects, unity, as tariffs put 'pause' on economy What's next for carbon tax and why is Canadian industry worried? But others have expressed some hope of a thawing in relations with Ottawa under Carney's leadership, particularly in comparison to the hostilities that sometimes showed under former prime minister Justin Trudeau. 'He has clearly backed off the overt warfare and the vocal opposition to oil and gas,' Advantage Energy Ltd. chief executive Michael Belenkie said. 'He recognizes that the crisis of confidence that (Donald) Trump sort of pushed us into requires that we probably don't shoot ourselves in the foot anymore when it comes to resource development.' mpotkins@
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Is Precision Drilling Corp. (NYSE:PDS) the Most Undervalued Canadian Stock to Buy According to Wall Street Analysts?
We recently published a list of the 10 Most Undervalued Canadian Stocks to Buy According to Wall Street Analysts. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Precision Drilling Corp. (NYSE:PDS) stands against other undervalued Canadian stocks according to Wall Street analysts. As February was concluding, Reuters reported that Canada's economy showed unexpected strength in Q4 2024, with an annualized growth rate of 2.6%. Household spending in particular, which makes up over half of the total GDP, rose by 1.4% in Q4. Business investments, which were stagnant for the past 11 quarters, finally showed positive momentum with a 0.7% growth in Q4. This was fueled by a 4.2% surge in investment in machinery and equipment. On a per capita basis, real GDP rose by 0.2% in Q4, which represents the second increase in the last 11 quarters. However, recently, amidst concerns over a US-led trade war, a Reuters poll from April indicates rising recession risks for Canada, which will potentially trigger at least two more Bank of Canada rate cuts this year, despite a temporary 90-day pause on some reciprocal tariffs announced by the US. Economists have now lowered Canada's growth forecasts to 1.2% for this year and 1.1% for the next, down from 1.7% and 1.6% respectively. All the economists surveyed agree that the US tariffs have negatively affected business sentiment. Inflation is projected to average 2.4% in 2025 and 2.1% in 2026. On April 7, Steve Odland, The Conference Board president and CEO, joined CNBC's Special Report to talk about the impact of tariff-led uncertainty on CEO sentiments. Steve Odland emphasized that CEOs need clarity on numbers, costs, and the rules of the game to plan effectively. While CEOs felt somewhat positive about the general direction of the economy, the introduction of tariffs had thrown everything into confusion. Odland described the situation as chaotic because many had expected tariffs to target countries like China, not close allies such as Canada and Mexico. This move was a shock to the system and raised questions about whether the tariffs were a temporary negotiating tactic or a long-term policy change, which further complicates business planning. In a conversation regarding the expectation of certain countries to come to the negotiating table, Odland responded that some countries, including Canada and Mexico, would likely be prioritized for quick resolution due to their importance. This is because of the integrated nature of the North American supply chain, especially in industries like automotive manufacturing. The conversation suggested that if firm deals could be reached with Canada, Mexico, China, Vietnam, and Taiwan, ideally resulting in zero tariffs, business confidence would improve. We first used the Finviz stock screener to compile a list of cheap Canadian stocks that had a forward P/E ratio under 15. We then selected the 10 stocks with high upside potential of over 35%. The stocks are ranked in ascending order of their upside potential. We have also added the hedge fund sentiment for each stock, as of Q4 2024, which was sourced from Insider Monkey's database. Note: All data was sourced on April 21. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter's strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here). Aerial view of oil and gas drilling rigs in sun-kissed desert. Forward P/E Ratio as of April 21: 9.39 Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 15 Average Upside Potential as of April 21: 53.25% Precision Drilling Corp. (NYSE:PDS) is a drilling company that provides onshore drilling, completion, and production services to exploration and production companies in the oil and natural gas and geothermal industries. It operates through Contract Drilling Services and Completion & Production Services segments. In 2024, the company experienced a 12% year-over-year increase in drilling activity in Canada. Precision also reported near full utilization of its Canadian Super Series rigs, which highlighted the demand for its high-specification drilling assets in the region. In Q4, Precision's drilling activity in Canada averaged 55 rigs, which is an increase of 1 rig sequentially and 1 rig year-over-year. The daily operating margins in Canada during Q4 were $14,559, which was an increase of ~$2,131 year-over-year. While this was slightly below guidance of $15,000 per day, these margins included ~$4 million in rig reactivation costs, which, if excluded, would have resulted in margin performance exceeding guidance. For Q1 2025, Precision Drilling Corp. (NYSE:PDS) anticipates its Canadian drilling margins to remain consistent with Q4 2024, in the range of $14,500 to $15,000 per day. Overall, PDS ranks 4th on our list of the most undervalued Canadian stocks to buy according to Wall Street analysts. While we acknowledge the growth potential of PDS, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold great promise for delivering high returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than PDS but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
Washington Post
13-02-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
Precision Drilling: Q4 Earnings Snapshot
CALGARY, Alberta — CALGARY, Alberta — Precision Drilling Corp. (PDS) on Wednesday reported profit of $10.6 million in its fourth quarter. The Calgary, Alberta-based company said it had profit of 76 cents per share. The oilfield services company posted revenue of $334.6 million in the period.
