Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.08 (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 5th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of 0.08 per share by the oil and gas company on Monday, March 17th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd.

Patterson-UTI Energy has increased its dividend payment by an average of 58.7% annually over the last three years. Patterson-UTI Energy has a dividend payout ratio of 160.0% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Analysts expect Patterson-UTI Energy to earn $0.17 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $0.32 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 188.2%.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock opened at $8.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company has a 50-day moving average of $8.53 and a 200 day moving average of $8.34. The firm has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.36 and a beta of 2.06. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 1 year low of $7.15 and a 1 year high of $12.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Patterson-UTI Energy news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 230,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.89, for a total value of $2,044,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,549,081 shares in the company, valued at $13,771,330.09. This represents a 12.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director James Carl Stewart sold 80,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.36, for a total transaction of $588,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 32,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $238,743.68. The trade was a 71.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Raymond James cut shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $11.63.

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.