Phocas Financial Corp. Sells 452,891 Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Phocas Financial Corp. lessened its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) by 85.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 79,810 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 452,891 shares during the quarter. Phocas Financial Corp.’s holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy were worth $659,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PTEN. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 19.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,439,545 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $36,671,000 after buying an additional 717,814 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 247.5% during the fourth quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 205,774 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,700,000 after purchasing an additional 146,564 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 262.6% in the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 43,618 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $360,000 after purchasing an additional 31,589 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in the fourth quarter worth $85,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 62.9% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 36,394 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 14,058 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Patterson-UTI Energy

In related news, Director James Carl Stewart sold 80,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 32,438 shares in the company, valued at approximately $238,743.68. This represents a 71.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 230,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.89, for a total value of $2,044,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,549,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,771,330.09. This represents a 12.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PTEN. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $11.00 to $10.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James lowered Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Patterson-UTI Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $11.63.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of PTEN opened at $8.11 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.28 and a beta of 2.07. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $7.15 and a 1 year high of $12.65. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $8.35.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Patterson-UTI Energy’s payout ratio is -12.96%.

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.