EntryPoint Capital LLC Buys Shares of 36,524 Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 36,524 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $302,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PTEN. WFA Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in Patterson-UTI Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 43.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,660 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 1,717 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 5,678 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 1,358 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Patterson-UTI Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $85,000. Finally, Sciencast Management LP acquired a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $85,000. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Patterson-UTI Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ:PTEN opened at $8.38 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. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $7.03 and a one year high of $12.65. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $8.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.20. The stock has a market cap of $3.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.39 and a beta of 1.99.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -12.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PTEN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Patterson-UTI Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $11.00 to $10.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James cut Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $11.54.

Insider Activity at Patterson-UTI Energy

In related news, Director James Carl Stewart sold 48,149 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.42, for a total value of $357,265.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 85,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $634,224.50. This represents a 36.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the director now owns 1,549,081 shares in the company, 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. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

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.