Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) Plans $0.08 Quarterly Dividend

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 6th,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of 0.08 per share by the oil and gas company on Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd.

Patterson-UTI Energy has increased its dividend by an average of 58.7% annually over the last three years. Patterson-UTI Energy has a payout ratio of 213.3% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Research analysts expect Patterson-UTI Energy to earn ($0.17) per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $0.32 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of -188.2%.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PTEN opened at $8.38 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $8.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.46. Patterson-UTI Energy has a twelve month low of $7.15 and a twelve month high of $12.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on PTEN shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Patterson-UTI Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com lowered Patterson-UTI Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 12th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays lowered their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $11.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James Carl Stewart sold 80,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.36, for a total value of $588,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 32,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $238,743.68. This represents a 71.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

About Patterson-UTI Energy

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of contract drilling services to oil and natural gas operators in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Drilling Services, Completion Services, and Drilling Products. The Contract Drilling Services segment provides contract and directional drilling services in onshore oil and natural gas basins, as well as engages in the service and re-certification of equipment for drilling contractors, and provision of electrical controls and automation to the energy, marine and mining industries.