Brokerages Set Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) PT at $11.71

Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $11.71.

PTEN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, October 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Patterson-UTI Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $11.00 to $10.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 11th.

Patterson-UTI Energy Price Performance

Shares of PTEN stock opened at $7.68 on Friday. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 52 week low of $7.15 and a 52 week high of $12.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.99 billion, a PE ratio of -3.51 and a beta of 2.12. 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’s fifty day moving average is $8.00 and its 200-day moving average is $8.81.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.17%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -14.61%.

Insider Activity at Patterson-UTI Energy

In other Patterson-UTI Energy news, Director James Carl Stewart sold 80,000 shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.36, for a total transaction of $588,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 32,438 shares in the company, valued at approximately $238,743.68. The trade was a 71.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Patterson-UTI Energy

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,435,258 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $118,080,000 after buying an additional 1,352,840 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy during the second quarter worth $495,000. Grace & White Inc. NY raised its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 668.6% during the third quarter. Grace & White Inc. NY now owns 279,768 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,140,000 after acquiring an additional 243,368 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 64.5% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 18,963 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $145,000 after purchasing an additional 7,432 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 12.1% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 881,036 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,740,000 after purchasing an additional 95,289 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

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.