Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) Shares Sold by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP cut its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) by 87.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 618,283 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 4,177,324 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.16% of Patterson-UTI Energy worth $6,405,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 25.4% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 497,262 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,931,000 after buying an additional 100,626 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,595,620 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $556,352,000 after acquiring an additional 1,554,020 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Patterson-UTI Energy during the 1st quarter worth $990,000. Natixis bought a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $617,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,872,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on PTEN. Bank of America decreased their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $12.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 15th. StockNews.com raised shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.50 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.13.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PTEN opened at $8.19 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $7.45 and a 1 year high of $14.26. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $8.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a PE ratio of 12.04 and a beta of 2.12.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The oil and gas company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.04). Patterson-UTI Energy had a return on equity of 4.49% and a net margin of 2.28%. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. will post 0.28 EPS for the current year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.91%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.06%.

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.