Versor Investments LP Grows Position in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Versor Investments LP increased its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN - Free Report) by 53.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 175,900 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after buying an additional 60,900 shares during the quarter. Versor Investments LP's holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy were worth $1,453,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 9.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,435,258 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $118,080,000 after acquiring an additional 1,352,840 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 31.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,743,241 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 22.7% during the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 258,836 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $2,138,000 after purchasing an additional 47,817 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 103.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 84,307 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $645,000 after purchasing an additional 42,824 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC increased its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 262.6% in the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 43,618 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 31,589 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company's stock.

Patterson-UTI Energy Price Performance

Patterson-UTI Energy stock traded down $0.74 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $7.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 18,372,681 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,571,521. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a PE ratio of -3.03 and a beta of 2.06. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $7.15 and a fifty-two week high of $12.65. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $8.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.33. 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Patterson-UTI Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -12.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PTEN. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James cut Patterson-UTI Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Patterson-UTI Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $11.00 to $10.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $11.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 230,000 shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 1,549,081 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,771,330.09. The trade was a 12.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director James Carl Stewart sold 80,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 71.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is owned by 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.