Insider Selling: Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) Director Sells 80,000 Shares of Stock

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) Director James Carl Stewart sold 80,000 shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.36, for a total transaction of $588,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 32,438 shares in the company, valued at $238,743.68. This represents a 71.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Patterson-UTI Energy Trading Up 5.3 %

Shares of PTEN opened at $7.68 on Monday. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $7.15 and a 12-month high of $12.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.99 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.51 and a beta of 2.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $8.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.17%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -14.61%.

Institutional Trading of Patterson-UTI Energy

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 7.2% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 22,336 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $171,000 after acquiring an additional 1,501 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 18.5% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 11,044 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 1,723 shares during the last quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 15.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 12,623 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 1,724 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 10.6% during 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. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in 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 valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 1,901 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PTEN. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Raymond James lowered their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Patterson-UTI Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $11.71.

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.