Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) Receives $16.33 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $16.33.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PTEN. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Benchmark cut shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 20th.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PTEN opened at $11.94 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.87 billion, a PE ratio of 11.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 2.22. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 1 year low of $9.70 and a 1 year high of $16.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $11.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.98.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The oil and gas company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. Patterson-UTI Energy had a net margin of 5.94% and a return on equity of 10.00%. Analysts forecast that Patterson-UTI Energy will post 0.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Patterson-UTI Energy

In other news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 187,916 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.73, for a total transaction of $2,204,254.68. Following the transaction, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Patterson-UTI Energy

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. WBI Investments Inc. bought a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy in the third quarter worth $1,610,000. Walleye Trading LLC purchased a new position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in the third quarter worth about $2,830,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 2,559,482 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $35,424,000 after acquiring an additional 425,975 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 73.1% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 784,788 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $10,861,000 after acquiring an additional 331,488 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 93.0% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 69,956 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $968,000 after acquiring an additional 33,706 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

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.