Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN - Free Report) by 93.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,312 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 543,678 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC's holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy were worth $325,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 22,096,553 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $182,518,000 after acquiring an additional 2,123,659 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted 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 purchasing an additional 1,352,840 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP grew its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 421.0% during the 4th 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. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,980,881 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $68,717,000 after buying an additional 478,064 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 31.2% during the fourth 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 during the period. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO William Andrew Hendricks, Jr. bought 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $7.88 per share, for a total transaction of $197,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director James Carl Stewart sold 48,149 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.42, for a total transaction of $357,265.58. Following the transaction, the director now owns 85,475 shares of the company's stock, valued at $634,224.50. This represents a 36.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PTEN traded up $0.03 during trading on Monday, reaching $8.22. The stock had a trading volume of 6,756,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,317,785. 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 stock has a market cap of $3.18 billion, a PE ratio of -3.33 and a beta of 1.99. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $7.03 and a one year high of $12.65. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $8.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.20.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.89%. Patterson-UTI Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -12.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PTEN. Raymond James lowered Patterson-UTI Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced 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 report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Patterson-UTI Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $11.00 to $10.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Patterson-UTI Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $11.54.

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.