Analysts Set Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) PT at $11.63

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $11.63.

PTEN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of 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, Raymond James cut shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Up 5.0 %

Shares of PTEN stock opened at $7.51 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.04 and a beta of 1.99. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 52 week low of $7.03 and a 52 week high of $12.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $8.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.27.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.26%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s payout ratio is -12.96%.

Insider Activity at Patterson-UTI Energy

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Patterson-UTI Energy

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,435,258 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $118,080,000 after acquiring an additional 1,352,840 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP grew its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 53.0% in the 4th quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 175,900 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,453,000 after acquiring an additional 60,900 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC grew its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 262.6% in the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 43,618 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $360,000 after acquiring an additional 31,589 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,321,667 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $60,477,000 after acquiring an additional 1,743,241 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 22.7% in the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 258,836 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,138,000 after acquiring an additional 47,817 shares in the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by 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.