Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) Shares Sold by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System lessened its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) by 8.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 320,871 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 30,642 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy were worth $2,650,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PTEN. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 101.4% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 130,205 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $996,000 after buying an additional 65,570 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 25.0% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,498 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,901 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 19,548 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $150,000 after purchasing an additional 1,879 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 64.5% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 18,963 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $145,000 after purchasing an additional 7,432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 65.4% in the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 17,435 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $133,000 after purchasing an additional 6,893 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 230,000 shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.89, for a total value of $2,044,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,549,081 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,771,330.09. The trade was a 12.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director James Carl Stewart sold 80,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.36, for a total value of $588,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 32,438 shares in the company, valued at $238,743.68. This represents a 71.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PTEN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Raymond James downgraded Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup cut their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Patterson-UTI Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their target price for the company from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $11.63.

Patterson-UTI Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PTEN opened at $8.34 on Friday. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $7.15 and a fifty-two week high of $12.65. The business has a 50-day moving average of $8.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.38 and a beta of 2.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.84%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently -12.96%.

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.