Morgan Stanley Cuts Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) Price Target to $7.00

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) had its price objective cut by Morgan Stanley from $9.00 to $7.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

PTEN has been the subject of several other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective 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. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $10.14.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Down 0.2%

Patterson-UTI Energy stock opened at $6.11 on Friday. Patterson-UTI Energy has a fifty-two week low of $5.12 and a fifty-two week 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 company has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.47 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.71.

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

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Patterson-UTI Energy’s payout ratio is -12.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director James Carl Stewart sold 48,149 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.42, for a total value of $357,265.58. Following the sale, the director now owns 85,475 shares in the company, valued at $634,224.50. This represents a 36.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO William Andrew Hendricks, Jr. purchased 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $7.88 per share, for a total transaction of $197,000.00. Following the acquisition, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Patterson-UTI Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $176,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,747,463 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $39,024,000 after buying an additional 220,422 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 231,637 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,904,000 after buying an additional 10,142 shares during the last quarter. Interval Partners LP acquired a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $1,339,000. Finally, Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. grew its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 2,225,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $18,290,000 after buying an additional 125,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

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.