Van ECK Associates Corp Acquires 1,743,241 Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN - Free Report) by 31.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,321,667 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after buying an additional 1,743,241 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 1.88% of Patterson-UTI Energy worth $60,477,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 10.6% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $118,080,000 after purchasing an additional 1,352,840 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP raised its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 421.0% in 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 buying 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 buying an additional 478,064 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,430,082 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $41,540,000 after buying an additional 494,250 shares during the period. 97.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PTEN. Raymond James downgraded Patterson-UTI Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup reduced 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 report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Patterson-UTI Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $11.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction of $588,800.00. Following the transaction, 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 the SEC website. Insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of PTEN stock traded down $0.16 on Monday, hitting $8.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,147,234 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,071,969. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.32. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $7.15 and a fifty-two week high of $12.65. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $8.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.61 and a beta of 2.06.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. Patterson-UTI Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -12.96%.

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.