American Century Companies Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) by 13.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,636,471 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,144,094 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy were worth $79,597,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PTEN. Sciencast Management LP purchased a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $85,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy during the 4th quarter worth $132,000. Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 27,788 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 2,298 shares in the last quarter. Tejara Capital Ltd increased its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Tejara Capital Ltd now owns 154,604 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,277,000 after purchasing an additional 13,028 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new position in Patterson-UTI Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $301,000. 97.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director James Carl Stewart sold 48,149 shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.42, for a total transaction of $357,265.58. Following the sale, the director now owns 85,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $634,224.50. This trade represents a 36.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 230,000 shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.89, for a total transaction of $2,044,700.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,549,081 shares in the company, valued at $13,771,330.09. This represents a 12.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Performance

PTEN stock opened at $8.46 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $8.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.19. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $7.03 and a 12 month high of $12.65. The company has a market capitalization of $3.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.43 and a beta of 1.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Patterson-UTI Energy’s payout ratio is -12.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Patterson-UTI Energy 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.