Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) Rating Increased to Neutral at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) from an underweight rating to a neutral rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has $12.00 target price on the oil and gas company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on PTEN. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $11.00 to $10.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. KeyCorp raised Patterson-UTI Energy to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Capital One Financial upgraded Patterson-UTI Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $12.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $12.75.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Up 6.4%

Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock opened at $10.48 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 52-week low of $5.10 and a 52-week high of $13.08. The company has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a P/E ratio of -45.57 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a 50 day moving average of $10.33 and a 200 day moving average of $9.92.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.01). Patterson-UTI Energy had a negative net margin of 1.92% and a negative return on equity of 1.68%. The firm had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.13) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Patterson-UTI Energy will post -0.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently -129.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Patterson-UTI Energy news, Director Cesar Jaime sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.29, for a total transaction of $122,900.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 77,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $952,007.98. This trade represents a 11.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO James Michael Holcomb sold 150,000 shares of Patterson-UTI Energy 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 sale, the chief operating officer owned 421,523 shares in the company, valued at $4,834,868.81. This trade represents a 26.25% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 435,145 shares of company stock valued at $5,074,506 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 14.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 21,211,576 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $229,732,000 after buying an additional 2,745,872 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,265,086 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $93,270,000 after acquiring an additional 75,560 shares during the period. Sourcerock Group LLC grew its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 109.2% during the second quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC now owns 13,803,775 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $81,856,000 after acquiring an additional 7,205,652 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 110.8% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 10,559,219 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $64,517,000 after acquiring an additional 5,551,276 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 11.0% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 9,450,347 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $102,347,000 after acquiring an additional 934,766 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Patterson-UTI Energy News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Patterson-UTI Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan upgraded PTEN from “underweight” to “neutral” and set a $12 price target, implying further upside from recent trading levels. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised its rating from “hold” to “strong-buy,” adding to the positive analyst sentiment surrounding the stock. Zacks.com
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually high options activity points to increased bullish interest: investors purchased 8,770 call options, roughly 214% above the typical daily volume.
• Positive Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, equivalent to a roughly 3.9% annualized yield, supporting the stock’s income appeal.
• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter revenue reached $1.23 billion, exceeding estimates by approximately $80 million and rising modestly year over year. Management’s earnings call also highlighted pricing power. Patterson-UTI Energy Fiscal Q2 Loss Narrows, Revenue Rises

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.