Brokerages Set Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) Price Target at $11.21

Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $10.88.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PTEN. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays reduced their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th.

Insider Activity at Patterson-UTI Energy

In other Patterson-UTI Energy news, CEO William Andrew Hendricks, Jr. bought 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $7.88 per share, with a total value of $197,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 230,000 shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Patterson-UTI Energy

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its position 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 worth $84,375,000 after buying an additional 8,254,137 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 89.1% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,954,738 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $140,046,000 after acquiring an additional 7,989,877 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $52,817,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in 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 worth $182,518,000 after buying an additional 2,123,659 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in Patterson-UTI Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $14,403,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.91% of the company's stock.

Patterson-UTI Energy Price Performance

PTEN stock traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $5.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 14,733,881 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,001,113. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company's 50 day moving average is $7.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.90. Patterson-UTI Energy has a fifty-two week low of $5.12 and a fifty-two week high of $11.70. The stock has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a PE ratio of -2.41 and a beta of 1.60.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.04. Patterson-UTI Energy had a positive return on equity of 0.81% and a negative net margin of 18.00%. The business had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.15 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Patterson-UTI Energy will post -0.1 EPS for the current year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.38%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Patterson-UTI Energy's payout ratio is currently -12.31%.

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.