Trexquant Investment LP Sells 293,577 Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Trexquant Investment LP lessened its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN - Free Report) by 44.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 373,669 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 293,577 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP owned 0.10% of Patterson-UTI Energy worth $3,087,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PTEN. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 30.2% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,146,750 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $9,472,000 after buying an additional 265,714 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,352,840 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP lifted its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 53.0% during the fourth quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 175,900 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,453,000 after acquiring an additional 60,900 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 262.6% during the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 43,618 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $360,000 after acquiring an additional 31,589 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,321,667 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $60,477,000 after purchasing an additional 1,743,241 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on PTEN. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James downgraded Patterson-UTI Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $8.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped 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 note on Thursday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Patterson-UTI Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $11.38.

Patterson-UTI Energy Price Performance

PTEN traded up $0.17 during trading on Friday, hitting $5.76. 6,984,627 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,573,351. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $7.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $5.12 and a twelve month high of $12.15. The company has a market cap of $2.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.33 and a beta of 1.60.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.56%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Patterson-UTI Energy's payout ratio is -12.96%.

Insider Activity at Patterson-UTI Energy

In other Patterson-UTI Energy news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 230,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.89, for a total value of $2,044,700.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,549,081 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,771,330.09. The trade was a 12.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO William Andrew Hendricks, Jr. bought 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $7.88 per share, with a total value of $197,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,482,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,562,824.96. This trade represents 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 company insiders.

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.