Skylands Capital LLC Sells 28,038 Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Skylands Capital LLC reduced its position in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 361,685 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 28,038 shares during the period. Skylands Capital LLC owned 0.09% of Patterson-UTI Energy worth $3,906,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,725 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 791 shares in the last quarter. Clarus Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Clarus Group Inc. now owns 46,123 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $498,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 99,484 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506 shares in the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC raised its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 27,142 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $376,000 after purchasing an additional 1,607 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC purchased a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. 97.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PTEN shares. Bank of America decreased their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.50 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com cut shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and set a $16.00 price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on 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. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Patterson-UTI Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Patterson-UTI Energy

In other Patterson-UTI Energy news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 187,916 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now owns 2,473,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,011,093.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Patterson-UTI Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ PTEN traded down $0.12 on Monday, reaching $11.13. 2,968,927 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,464,143. The stock has a market cap of $4.49 billion, a PE ratio of 11.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 2.22. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $9.70 and a 12 month high of $16.17. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.57. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The oil and gas company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. Patterson-UTI Energy had a net margin of 5.94% and a return on equity of 10.00%. As a group, research analysts predict that Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The business 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 2.88%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.68%.

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.