Brokerages Set Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) PT at $16.17

Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $16.17.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PTEN shares. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.50 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com cut Patterson-UTI Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research note on Monday, April 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Patterson-UTI Energy

In other news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 187,916 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.73, for a total transaction of $2,204,254.68. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,473,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,011,093.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 320.7% during the first quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 2,091 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 1,594 shares during the period. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 157.2% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,804 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,714 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 40.9% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,725 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 791 shares during the period. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. 97.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Patterson-UTI Energy Trading Up 1.1 %

PTEN opened at $11.34 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.41. Patterson-UTI Energy has a one year low of $9.70 and a one year high of $16.17. The company has a market cap of $4.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.23, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 2.21. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $11.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.65.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The oil and gas company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. Patterson-UTI Energy had a net margin of 5.94% and a return on equity of 10.00%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Patterson-UTI Energy will post 0.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Patterson-UTI Energy’s payout ratio is 31.68%.

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.