Investors Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Traders bought 140,770 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 1,249% compared to the average volume of 10,433 put options.

Patterson-UTI Energy Trading Up 3.8 %

Shares of PTEN stock traded up $0.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $8.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,438,884 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,550,664. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $8.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 12-month low of $7.38 and a 12-month high of $12.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a PE ratio of -3.96 and a beta of 2.12.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. Patterson-UTI Energy's payout ratio is currently -14.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PTEN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, October 12th. ATB Capital lowered their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $11.88.

Institutional Trading of Patterson-UTI Energy

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 3.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,595,620 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $556,352,000 after purchasing an additional 1,554,020 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 35.9% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 19,972,894 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $152,793,000 after buying an additional 5,275,525 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 9.6% in 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 buying an additional 1,352,840 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 5.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,980,881 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $68,717,000 after acquiring an additional 478,064 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 14.7% during the second quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 6,069,499 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $62,880,000 after acquiring an additional 778,581 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.