Patterson-UTI Energy Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders bought 32,419 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 240% compared to the average volume of 9,545 put options.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Performance

Shares of PTEN stock opened at $11.25 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.54 billion, a PE ratio of 11.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 2.21. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $11.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.59. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 12 month low of $9.70 and a 12 month high of $16.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The oil and gas company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. Patterson-UTI Energy had a return on equity of 10.00% and a net margin of 5.94%. On average, equities analysts expect that Patterson-UTI Energy will post 0.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Patterson-UTI Energy

In related news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 187,916 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.73, for a total value of $2,204,254.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,473,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,011,093.47. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Patterson-UTI Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CWM LLC grew its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 40.9% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,725 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 791 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $128,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 45.6% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 199,563 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,761,000 after purchasing an additional 62,542 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 38.2% during the 3rd quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 16,508 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 4,562 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI grew its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 2,789.1% in the third quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 174,793 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,419,000 after purchasing an additional 168,743 shares during the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.50 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com cut Patterson-UTI Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Benchmark lowered Patterson-UTI Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.17.

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.