Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $11.54.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Patterson-UTI Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Raymond James lowered Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th.

Insider Transactions at Patterson-UTI Energy

In other Patterson-UTI Energy news, Director James Carl Stewart sold 48,149 shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.42, for a total value of $357,265.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 85,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $634,224.50. The trade was a 36.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO William Andrew Hendricks, Jr. bought 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $7.88 per share, for a total transaction of $197,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,482,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,562,824.96. The trade was a 1.02 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. WFA Asset Management Corp bought a new position in Patterson-UTI Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake 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 valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 3,218 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Patterson-UTI Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Patterson-UTI Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,717 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Patterson-UTI Energy Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of PTEN stock opened at $5.69 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.30 and a beta of 1.60. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 1 year low of $5.12 and a 1 year high of $12.65. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $8.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.62%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s payout ratio is presently -12.96%.

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.