Viking Fund Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Viking Fund Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) by 72.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 100,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 260,000 shares during the quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy were worth $1,194,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PTEN. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 320.7% in the 1st quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 2,091 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 1,594 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 635.8% during the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,002 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 2,594 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 28.5% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,031 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 893 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $77,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on PTEN shares. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.50 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 15th. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a report on Monday, April 8th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $17.00 to $14.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Patterson-UTI Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $15.67.

Insider Transactions at Patterson-UTI Energy

In related news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 150,000 shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.55, for a total value of $1,732,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,007,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,191,187.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Patterson-UTI Energy Price Performance

Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock traded up $0.07 during trading on Thursday, hitting $10.16. The stock had a trading volume of 3,870,563 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,733,655. The business has a fifty day moving average of $10.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.04. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $9.68 and a fifty-two week high of $16.17. The firm has a market cap of $4.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.84 and a beta of 2.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.28.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The oil and gas company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.02. Patterson-UTI Energy had a net margin of 4.07% and a return on equity of 7.13%. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.15%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.06%.

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.