BNP Paribas Financial Markets Increases Holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN - Free Report) by 34.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 355,713 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after buying an additional 90,691 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned about 0.09% of Patterson-UTI Energy worth $2,721,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings 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 worth $152,793,000 after acquiring an additional 5,275,525 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. raised its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 14.7% in the second quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 6,069,499 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $62,880,000 after purchasing an additional 778,581 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 62.8% during the second 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 purchasing an additional 2,191,330 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 10.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,430,082 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $41,540,000 after purchasing an additional 494,250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 12.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,167,871 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $39,535,000 after buying an additional 559,859 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PTEN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Citigroup decreased their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Patterson-UTI Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $11.88.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Performance

Shares of PTEN stock traded down $0.64 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $7.49. 13,055,288 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,215,895. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $8.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.12. The company has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.45 and a beta of 2.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.32. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $7.38 and a 12-month high of $12.65.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Patterson-UTI Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently -14.61%.

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.