Ieq Capital LLC Acquires 31,589 Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Ieq Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN - Free Report) by 262.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,618 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after buying an additional 31,589 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC's holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy were worth $360,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. ARGA Investment Management LP grew its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 421.0% during the fourth 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 during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 35.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 5,275,525 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,321,667 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $60,477,000 after purchasing an additional 1,743,241 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,435,258 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $118,080,000 after purchasing an additional 1,352,840 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 82.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,338,844 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $10,242,000 after purchasing an additional 606,054 shares during the period. 97.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Patterson-UTI Energy Price Performance

PTEN traded down $0.75 during trading on Monday, reaching $7.49. 16,753,866 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,571,507. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.33. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $7.15 and a 12-month high of $12.65. The company has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.03 and a beta of 2.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.54.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Patterson-UTI Energy's payout ratio is presently -12.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Patterson-UTI Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James downgraded Patterson-UTI Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $11.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Patterson-UTI Energy

In other Patterson-UTI Energy news, Director James Carl Stewart sold 80,000 shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 32,438 shares of the company's stock, valued at $238,743.68. This trade represents a 71.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 230,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.89, for a total value of $2,044,700.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,549,081 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,771,330.09. This trade represents a 12.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.