Norges Bank Acquires New Position in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Norges Bank bought a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 6,394,288 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $52,817,000. Norges Bank owned 1.64% of Patterson-UTI Energy as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atria Investments Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 34,831 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $288,000 after acquiring an additional 1,252 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 31.4% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 5,678 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,358 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 15,698 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 1,436 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 43.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,660 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,717 shares during the period. Finally, Greenleaf Trust raised its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 19,576 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $162,000 after buying an additional 2,141 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.91% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PTEN has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Patterson-UTI Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $11.00 to $10.00 in a 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. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of 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. One research 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $11.54.

Patterson-UTI Energy Price Performance

PTEN stock traded up $1.10 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $6.56. 17,696,226 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,525,526. 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's 50 day moving average price is $7.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.10. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $5.12 and a 52-week high of $12.17. The company has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.66 and a beta of 1.60.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Patterson-UTI Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently -12.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Patterson-UTI Energy news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 230,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $13,771,330.09. This represents a 12.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO William Andrew Hendricks, Jr. acquired 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $7.88 per share, with a total value of $197,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 2,482,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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.

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.