Zacks Research Issues Optimistic Outlook for PTEN Earnings

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research lifted their Q2 2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research report issued on Wednesday, February 19th. Zacks Research analyst N. Choudhury now expects that the oil and gas company will earn $0.04 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $0.02. The consensus estimate for Patterson-UTI Energy’s current full-year earnings is ($0.10) per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Patterson-UTI Energy’s Q3 2026 earnings at $0.06 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $0.05 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $0.58 EPS.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Raymond James lowered Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $11.63.

Patterson-UTI Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ PTEN opened at $8.83 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $8.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.37. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 1-year low of $7.15 and a 1-year high of $12.65.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently -12.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James Carl Stewart sold 80,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now directly owns 32,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 230,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.89, for a total transaction of $2,044,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,549,081 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,771,330.09. This trade represents a 12.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Patterson-UTI Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PTEN. WFA Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in Patterson-UTI Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 1,443.0% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,441 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 3,218 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Patterson-UTI Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 43.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,660 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,717 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Patterson-UTI Energy Company Profile

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.