Patterson-UTI Energy Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders bought 8,770 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 214% compared to the average volume of 2,791 call options.

Patterson-UTI Energy News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Patterson-UTI Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan upgraded PTEN from “underweight” to “neutral” and set a $12 price target, implying further upside from recent trading levels. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised its rating from “hold” to “strong-buy,” adding to the positive analyst sentiment surrounding the stock. Zacks.com
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually high options activity points to increased bullish interest: investors purchased 8,770 call options, roughly 214% above the typical daily volume.
• Positive Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, equivalent to a roughly 3.9% annualized yield, supporting the stock’s income appeal.
• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter revenue reached $1.23 billion, exceeding estimates by approximately $80 million and rising modestly year over year. Management’s earnings call also highlighted pricing power. Patterson-UTI Energy Fiscal Q2 Loss Narrows, Revenue Rises

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Performance

PTEN stock opened at $10.48 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $10.33 and its 200-day moving average is $9.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a market cap of $3.98 billion, a P/E ratio of -45.57 and a beta of 0.62. Patterson-UTI Energy has a twelve month low of $5.10 and a twelve month high of $13.08.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.01). Patterson-UTI Energy had a negative return on equity of 1.68% and a negative net margin of 1.92%.The company had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.13) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Patterson-UTI Energy will post -0.06 EPS for the current year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently -173.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Patterson-UTI Energy

In related news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 61,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.02, for a total value of $738,929.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,128,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,567,851.46. This trade represents a 5.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Forrest C. Robinson sold 13,670 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.01, for a total transaction of $164,176.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 56,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $682,672.42. This trade represents a 19.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 435,145 shares of company stock valued at $5,074,506 over the last three months. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Patterson-UTI Energy

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 23.7% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 169,995 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,397,000 after acquiring an additional 32,622 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 231,637 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,904,000 after purchasing an additional 10,142 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 4.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,747,463 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $39,024,000 after purchasing an additional 220,422 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $176,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 3.6% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 864,492 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $7,106,000 after purchasing an additional 30,217 shares in the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PTEN. Piper Sandler upgraded Patterson-UTI Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $13.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Patterson-UTI Energy from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $12.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $12.75.

About Patterson-UTI Energy

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.