75,665 Shares in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) Purchased by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 75,665 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $625,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. ARGA Investment Management LP raised its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 421.0% in the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 10,214,860 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $84,375,000 after buying an additional 8,254,137 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 22,096,553 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $182,518,000 after acquiring an additional 2,123,659 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings 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 valued at $60,477,000 after acquiring an additional 1,743,241 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $118,080,000 after acquiring an additional 1,352,840 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 9,636,471 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $79,597,000 after acquiring an additional 1,144,094 shares during the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Patterson-UTI Energy Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ PTEN traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $5.69. The stock had a trading volume of 15,990,408 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,431,118. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $8.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.16. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $5.12 and a 1 year high of $12.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.54. The firm has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.30 and a beta of 1.60.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.62%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Patterson-UTI Energy's payout ratio is -12.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PTEN shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $11.54.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 230,000 shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.89, for a total value of $2,044,700.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,549,081 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,771,330.09. This trade represents a 12.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO William Andrew Hendricks, Jr. bought 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $7.88 per share, with a total value of $197,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 2,482,592 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,562,824.96. This represents a 1.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

Patterson-UTI Energy 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.