Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Monday after Zacks Research downgraded the stock from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating. The stock had previously closed at $11.49, but opened at $10.70. Patterson-UTI Energy shares last traded at $10.8350, with a volume of 923,526 shares traded.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on PTEN. Susquehanna upped their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $7.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $10.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Patterson-UTI Energy news, COO James Michael Holcomb sold 150,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.47, for a total value of $1,720,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 421,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,834,868.81. This represents a 26.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 61,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.02, for a total value of $738,929.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,128,773 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,567,851.46. This trade represents a 5.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 1,007,844 shares of company stock valued at $11,922,302 in the last ninety days. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Patterson-UTI Energy

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PTEN. Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC bought a new position in Patterson-UTI Energy during the first quarter worth about $243,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 199.9% during the first quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 35,637 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $386,000 after purchasing an additional 23,755 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 10.9% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,855,166 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $52,581,000 after purchasing an additional 475,623 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 646.3% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 110,955 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,202,000 after purchasing an additional 96,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 425,281 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,606,000 after purchasing an additional 72,082 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Patterson-UTI Energy Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.84. The company has a 50-day moving average of $11.41 and a 200-day moving average of $9.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.52 and a beta of 0.61.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The oil and gas company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by $0.04. Patterson-UTI Energy had a negative net margin of 2.56% and a negative return on equity of 2.32%. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. Patterson-UTI Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. will post -0.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently -129.03%.

About Patterson-UTI Energy

Patterson-UTI Energy provides a comprehensive suite of onshore contract drilling and pressure pumping services to exploration and production companies in North America. The company’s core offerings include land-based drilling rigs, directional drilling, hydraulic fracturing services, downhole tool rental and well-servicing equipment. By integrating drilling and completion capabilities, Patterson-UTI Energy offers operators a streamlined solution designed to improve operational efficiency and well performance.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Patterson-UTI Energy traces its origins to its founding in 1978 and was later incorporated in Delaware in 1996.