Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) Price Target Lowered to $11.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) had its price objective trimmed by Royal Bank of Canada from $12.00 to $11.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on PTEN. ATB Capital reduced their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.50 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com downgraded Patterson-UTI Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 12th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $12.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $11.96.

Patterson-UTI Energy Price Performance

Shares of PTEN stock traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $8.17. 12,017,020 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,090,941. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.35 and a beta of 2.12. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $8.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.73. Patterson-UTI Energy has a fifty-two week low of $7.45 and a fifty-two week high of $13.29.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. Patterson-UTI Energy had a return on equity of 4.49% and a net margin of 2.28%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Patterson-UTI Energy will post 0.18 EPS for the current year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 103.23%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Patterson-UTI Energy

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 25.4% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 497,262 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,931,000 after purchasing an additional 100,626 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,595,620 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $556,352,000 after acquiring an additional 1,554,020 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Patterson-UTI Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $990,000. Natixis acquired a new position in Patterson-UTI Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $617,000. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 3,261,662 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $33,791,000 after acquiring an additional 197,555 shares in the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.