Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) Trading Down 3.8% - Here's Why

Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN - Get Free Report) fell 3.8% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $5.85 and last traded at $5.66. 424,262 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 95% from the average session volume of 8,737,799 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.88.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James lowered shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $11.21.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Performance

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 has a 50-day moving average of $7.33 and a 200-day moving average of $7.93. The firm has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.44 and a beta of 1.60.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $0.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.18 billion. Patterson-UTI Energy had a negative net margin of 18.00% and a positive return on equity of 0.81%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. will post -0.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.32%. Patterson-UTI Energy's dividend payout ratio is -12.96%.

Insider Activity at Patterson-UTI Energy

In other news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 230,000 shares of Patterson-UTI Energy 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 completion of the transaction, the director now 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO William Andrew Hendricks, Jr. acquired 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $7.88 per share, for a total transaction of $197,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,482,592 shares in the company, valued at $19,562,824.96. The trade was a 1.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Patterson-UTI Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PTEN. ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 8,254,137 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 89.1% during the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,954,738 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $140,046,000 after purchasing an additional 7,989,877 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Patterson-UTI Energy during the fourth quarter worth $52,817,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 10.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 2,123,659 shares during the period. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $14,403,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% 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.