Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $16.33.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on PTEN shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $12.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James decreased their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Benchmark cut shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock opened at $11.94 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.98. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 52-week low of $9.70 and a 52-week high of $16.17. The firm has a market cap of $4.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 2.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The oil and gas company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.01. Patterson-UTI Energy had a return on equity of 10.00% and a net margin of 5.94%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Patterson-UTI Energy will post 0.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Patterson-UTI Energy news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 187,916 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.73, for a total value of $2,204,254.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,473,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,011,093.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Patterson-UTI Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PTEN. WBI Investments Inc. acquired a new position in Patterson-UTI Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,610,000. Walleye Trading LLC bought a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $2,830,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 20.0% in the third quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 2,559,482 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $35,424,000 after buying an additional 425,975 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 73.1% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 784,788 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $10,861,000 after acquiring an additional 331,488 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 93.0% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 69,956 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $968,000 after acquiring an additional 33,706 shares during the period. 97.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.