Morgan Stanley Lowers Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) Price Target to $9.00

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) had its price objective lowered by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $10.00 to $9.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 7.53% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on PTEN. Raymond James lowered shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Patterson-UTI Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective 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. 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $11.54.

Patterson-UTI Energy Price Performance

Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock traded down $0.20 on Thursday, reaching $8.37. The stock had a trading volume of 2,978,131 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,044,555. The business’s 50 day moving average is $8.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.19. The company has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.39 and a beta of 1.99. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 1 year low of $7.03 and a 1 year high of $12.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Insider Activity at Patterson-UTI Energy

In other Patterson-UTI Energy news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 230,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.89, for a total value of $2,044,700.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,549,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,771,330.09. This trade represents a 12.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO William Andrew Hendricks, Jr. acquired 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $7.88 per share, with a total value of $197,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Patterson-UTI Energy

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PTEN. WFA Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position 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 buying an additional 3,218 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 43.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,660 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,717 shares in the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.