The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday, Nov. 22, edition that National Bank Financial analyst Dan Payne is "hitting a pause" on Canadian oil field services providers expecting a "lull" to earnings through at least the fourth quarter. The Globe's David Leeder writes in the Eye On Equities column that Mr. Payne says, "We continue to await a stabilization of OFS activity levels to spur the next phase of the cycle, but given the constrained commodity backdrop and observations through reporting (both upstream and services), the wait remains." Mr. Payne downgraded four stocks in the sector to "sector perform" from "outperform," including Precision Drilling. His target remains $135, exceeding the $133.07 consensus. Mr. Payne says in a note: "Looking back, as our coverage has contended with retrenching activity and earnings trends year-to-date, equity performance has been uneven (up 14 per cent since June 30; down 33 per cent to up 39-per-cent range), while multiples have similarly trended (up 13 per cent since June 30; down 5 per cent to up 30-per-cent range). With that, multiples still trade at a 30-per-cent discount to historical, and the value opportunity for the long-term is by no means out of hand."