Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) Price Target Lowered to $9.00 at Morgan Stanley

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN - Free Report) had its price objective lowered by Morgan Stanley from $10.00 to $9.00 in a report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the oil and gas company's stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on PTEN. Raymond James cut Patterson-UTI Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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 note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Patterson-UTI Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $11.54.

Patterson-UTI Energy Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock traded down $0.19 during trading on Thursday, reaching $8.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,577,733 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,324,033. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 52-week low of $7.03 and a 52-week high of $12.65. The firm's 50-day moving average is $8.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.20. The company has a market cap of $3.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.32 and a beta of 1.99.

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Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Patterson-UTI Energy's payout ratio is presently -12.96%.

Insider Activity at Patterson-UTI Energy

In related news, Director James Carl Stewart sold 48,149 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.42, for a total value of $357,265.58. Following the sale, the director now owns 85,475 shares in the company, valued at $634,224.50. This represents a 36.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO William Andrew Hendricks, Jr. acquired 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $7.88 per share, with a total value of $197,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,482,592 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,562,824.96. The trade was a 1.02 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Patterson-UTI Energy

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 22,096,553 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $182,518,000 after buying an additional 2,123,659 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 89.1% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 7,989,877 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 9.6% during 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 increased its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 421.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 8,254,137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 13.5% during the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 1,144,094 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.91% 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.