Brokerages Set Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) PT at $14.95

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $14.77.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PTEN. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a report on Monday, May 6th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 3rd.

Insider Activity at Patterson-UTI Energy

In other Patterson-UTI Energy news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 150,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.55, for a total transaction of $1,732,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,007,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,191,187.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Patterson-UTI Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 632,943 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,836,000 after purchasing an additional 114,868 shares in the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC raised its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 19,843 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $214,000 after buying an additional 2,374 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 99,484 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,074,000 after acquiring an additional 1,506 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 46.9% during the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 10,010 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 3,196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 2,647,627 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $28,595,000 after purchasing an additional 88,145 shares in the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Patterson-UTI Energy Trading Up 3.2 %

PTEN stock opened at $10.99 on Thursday. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 1-year low of $9.51 and a 1-year high of $16.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The business’s 50 day moving average is $10.32 and its 200-day moving average is $10.95. The firm has a market cap of $4.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.16 and a beta of 2.19.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The oil and gas company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.02. Patterson-UTI Energy had a return on equity of 4.49% and a net margin of 2.28%. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Patterson-UTI Energy will post 0.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 47.06%.

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.