Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $11.54.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on PTEN shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James cut Patterson-UTI Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th.

Patterson-UTI Energy Price Performance

PTEN traded up $0.18 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $8.56. The stock had a trading volume of 9,439,606 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,327,124. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $8.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.47 and a beta of 1.99. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 1-year low of $7.03 and a 1-year high of $12.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

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Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Patterson-UTI Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -12.96%.

Insider Activity at Patterson-UTI Energy

In other Patterson-UTI Energy news, Director James Carl Stewart sold 48,149 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.42, for a total value of $357,265.58. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 85,475 shares in the company, valued at $634,224.50. This trade represents a 36.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $2,044,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,549,081 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,771,330.09. This represents a 12.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Patterson-UTI Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WFA Asset Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 1,443.0% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,441 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 3,218 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 43.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,660 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,717 shares during the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.