8 Best Dividend Paying Debt Free Stocks to Invest in

6. RPC, Inc. (NYSE:RES)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 14

Market Cap as of December 7: $1.26 billion 

Enterprise Value as of December 7: $1.01 billion

RPC, Inc. (NYSE:RES) is a Georgia-based oil and gas services company. During the third quarter, the company experienced a decline in revenues and profits due to a challenging oilfield services market. Both oil prices and rig counts decreased sequentially, creating additional difficulties in an already competitive landscape. Non-pressure pumping service lines proved more stable, with a modest 4% aggregate revenue decline, while pressure pumping revenues dropped by a low double-digit percentage. The stock is also down by over 18% since the start of the year.

However, broader service lines and larger, more diversified customers remained relatively stable. RPC, Inc. (NYSE:RES)’s Tier 4 dual fuel assets continued to see high utilization with strong visibility, whereas demand for older equipment was weaker. Management plans to implement targeted cost-saving measures to protect margins until industry conditions improve.

In addition to this, RPC, Inc. (NYSE:RES) remained debt free at the end of the quarter and returned $8.6 million to shareholders through dividends. The company ended the quarter with $277 million available in cash. In the first nine months of the year, it generated $255.2 million in operating cash flow and its free cash flow for the period came in at $75.8 million. On October 24, the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, which was in line with its previous dividend. The stock’s dividend yield on December 7 came in at 2.74%.

The number of hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey owning stakes in RPC, Inc. (NYSE:RES) grew to 14 in Q3 2024, from 11 in the previous quarter. These stakes have a consolidated value of over $60.4 million. With nearly 3 million shares, GAMCO Investors owned the largest stake in the company.