Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) Lifted to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on PTEN. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Benchmark lowered Patterson-UTI Energy from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Patterson-UTI Energy in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. They issued a neutral rating and a $12.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a strong-buy rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Patterson-UTI Energy currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $16.33.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Performance

Shares of PTEN opened at $12.05 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.98. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 52-week low of $9.70 and a 52-week high of $16.17. The company has a market capitalization of $4.92 billion, a PE ratio of 11.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 2.22.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The oil and gas company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.01. Patterson-UTI Energy had a net margin of 5.94% and a return on equity of 10.00%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Patterson-UTI Energy will post 0.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s payout ratio is 31.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Patterson-UTI Energy

In other news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 187,916 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.73, for a total value of $2,204,254.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,473,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,011,093.47. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Patterson-UTI Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $426,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,041,600 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $486,449,000 after acquiring an additional 1,847,468 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 190,502 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,058,000 after acquiring an additional 21,263 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $291,000. 97.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.