Insider Selling: Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) Director Sells $588,800.00 in Stock

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) 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 value of $588,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 32,438 shares in the company, valued at $238,743.68. This represents a 71.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Performance

Shares of PTEN stock opened at $7.68 on Monday. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $7.15 and a 52-week high of $12.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market cap of $2.99 billion, a PE ratio of -3.51 and a beta of 2.12. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.86.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Patterson-UTI Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PTEN. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 5,275,525 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 9.6% in the third 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 5.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,980,881 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $68,717,000 after acquiring an additional 478,064 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 14.7% during the 2nd quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 6,069,499 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $62,880,000 after acquiring an additional 778,581 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 62.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,683,096 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $58,877,000 after acquiring an additional 2,191,330 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PTEN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Raymond James cut their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Patterson-UTI Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Patterson-UTI Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.