Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) Shares Purchased by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) by 21.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 869,719 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 155,147 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy were worth $7,184,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PTEN. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 22,096,553 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $182,518,000 after acquiring an additional 2,123,659 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP raised its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 421.0% in the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 10,214,860 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $84,375,000 after purchasing an additional 8,254,137 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 9,636,471 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $79,597,000 after purchasing an additional 1,144,094 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,321,667 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $60,477,000 after buying an additional 1,743,241 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $52,817,000. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Patterson-UTI Energy

In related news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 230,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,549,081 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,771,330.09. This trade represents a 12.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO William Andrew Hendricks, Jr. acquired 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $7.88 per share, for a total transaction of $197,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 2,482,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,562,824.96. This trade represents a 1.02 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PTEN opened at $5.95 on Wednesday. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $5.12 and a 1 year high of $11.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.54. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $7.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $7.89. The firm has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.41 and a beta of 1.60.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.04. Patterson-UTI Energy had a negative net margin of 18.00% and a positive return on equity of 0.81%. The company had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.15 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. will post -0.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.38%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently -12.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on PTEN. Barclays decreased their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $10.88.

Patterson-UTI Energy 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.