Royce & Associates LP Sells 1,271,115 Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. $PTEN

Royce & Associates LP lowered its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) by 93.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 95,685 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,271,115 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy were worth $496,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 7.9% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 15,599,294 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $80,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,135,704 shares during the period. Ninepoint Partners LP purchased a new position in Patterson-UTI Energy during the third quarter valued at $2,590,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Choreo LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 59,287 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 19,773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brucke Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. Brucke Financial Inc. now owns 22,351 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $116,000 after buying an additional 3,176 shares during the period. 97.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Patterson-UTI Energy

In other Patterson-UTI Energy news, Director James Carl Stewart sold 368,254 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.87, for a total transaction of $2,161,650.98. Following the sale, the director directly owned 207,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,215,090. This represents a 64.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Patterson-UTI Energy Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock opened at $8.97 on Friday. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $5.10 and a 1-year high of $9.07. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $7.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a PE ratio of -35.88 and a beta of 0.71.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.11) by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. Patterson-UTI Energy had a negative net margin of 1.94% and a negative return on equity of 1.50%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.13) EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. will post -0.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. This is a positive change from Patterson-UTI Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently -160.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PTEN. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $6.00 target price (down from $7.00) on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Patterson-UTI Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $8.11.

Patterson-UTI Energy Company Profile

Patterson-UTI Energy provides a comprehensive suite of onshore contract drilling and pressure pumping services to exploration and production companies in North America. The company’s core offerings include land-based drilling rigs, directional drilling, hydraulic fracturing services, downhole tool rental and well-servicing equipment. By integrating drilling and completion capabilities, Patterson-UTI Energy offers operators a streamlined solution designed to improve operational efficiency and well performance.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Patterson-UTI Energy traces its origins to its founding in 1978 and was later incorporated in Delaware in 1996.