Patterson-UTI Energy Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) saw some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock investors purchased 20,083 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 95% compared to the typical daily volume of 10,284 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PTEN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $11.88.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Performance

Shares of PTEN opened at $7.61 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.52. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $8.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.48 and a beta of 2.12. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 52 week low of $7.38 and a 52 week high of $13.10.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.20%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently -14.61%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Patterson-UTI Energy

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 3.5% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Patterson-UTI Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $152,265,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 14.7% in the second quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 6,069,499 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $62,880,000 after purchasing an additional 778,581 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 62.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,683,096 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $58,877,000 after purchasing an additional 2,191,330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 12.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,167,871 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $39,535,000 after purchasing an additional 559,859 shares during the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Patterson-UTI Energy Company Profile

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.