Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN - Get Free Report) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The oil and gas company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.02), Zacks reports. Patterson-UTI Energy had a positive return on equity of 0.81% and a negative net margin of 18.00%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.15 earnings per share.

Patterson-UTI Energy Trading Up 2.9 %

PTEN traded up $0.24 during trading on Friday, hitting $8.62. 11,733,659 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,071,969. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.54. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.44. The firm has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.49 and a beta of 2.06. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 1 year low of $7.15 and a 1 year high of $12.65.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. Patterson-UTI Energy's payout ratio is -12.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on PTEN shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com lowered Patterson-UTI Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, October 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. 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 research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $11.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James Carl Stewart sold 80,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.36, for a total value of $588,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 32,438 shares in the company, valued at approximately $238,743.68. The trade was a 71.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

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.