Brokerages Set Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) Price Target at $11.63

Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $11.63.

A number of research firms have issued reports on PTEN. Raymond James lowered shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Performance

Shares of PTEN opened at $7.61 on Friday. 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 market capitalization of $2.94 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.08 and a beta of 1.99. The company’s fifty day moving average is $8.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.24. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 1 year low of $7.03 and a 1 year high of $12.65.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently -12.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO William Andrew Hendricks, Jr. acquired 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $7.88 per share, for a total transaction of $197,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director James Carl Stewart sold 80,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.36, for a total value of $588,800.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 32,438 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 have sold a total of 358,149 shares of company stock valued at $2,990,766 in the last three months. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Patterson-UTI Energy

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PTEN. ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 8,254,137 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 89.1% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,954,738 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $140,046,000 after buying an additional 7,989,877 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $52,817,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 35.9% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 19,972,894 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $152,793,000 after buying an additional 5,275,525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in Patterson-UTI Energy in the fourth quarter worth $14,403,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Patterson-UTI Energy Company 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.