State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Increases Stake in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN - Free Report) by 22.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 258,836 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after purchasing an additional 47,817 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned about 0.07% of Patterson-UTI Energy worth $2,138,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position 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 period. State Street Corp boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 1,352,840 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP grew its holdings 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. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,980,881 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $68,717,000 after acquiring an additional 478,064 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,321,667 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $60,477,000 after acquiring an additional 1,743,241 shares in the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PTEN has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup dropped their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped 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 report on Monday, January 6th. 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $11.63.

Insider Transactions at Patterson-UTI Energy

In related news, Director James Carl Stewart sold 80,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.36, for a total value of $588,800.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 32,438 shares in the company, valued at approximately $238,743.68. This trade represents a 71.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 230,000 shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.89, for a total transaction of $2,044,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,549,081 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,771,330.09. This trade represents a 12.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PTEN traded down $0.16 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $8.11. 9,257,949 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,045,787. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $7.15 and a 52-week high of $12.65. The stock has a market cap of $3.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.28 and a beta of 2.07. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $8.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.54.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Patterson-UTI Energy's payout ratio is -12.96%.

Patterson-UTI Energy 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.