Royce & Associates LP Boosts Position in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Royce & Associates LP lifted its position in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) by 23.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,003,330 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 193,160 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy were worth $7,675,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,595,620 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $556,352,000 after purchasing an additional 1,554,020 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $152,265,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. raised its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 14.7% during the 2nd quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 6,069,499 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $62,880,000 after buying an additional 778,581 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 62.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,683,096 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $58,877,000 after acquiring an additional 2,191,330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 12.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,167,871 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $39,535,000 after acquiring an additional 559,859 shares during the period. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup decreased their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 12th. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $11.88.

Patterson-UTI Energy Price Performance

Patterson-UTI Energy stock opened at $8.04 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $8.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.35. The firm has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a PE ratio of -3.67 and a beta of 2.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $7.38 and a 52-week high of $12.65.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.98%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s payout ratio is -14.61%.

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.