Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) Price Target Cut to $14.00

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) had its price target trimmed by Bank of America from $14.50 to $14.00 in a research note published on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. Susquehanna reaffirmed a positive rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a report on Monday, April 8th. Benchmark cut Patterson-UTI Energy from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Patterson-UTI Energy in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. They set a neutral rating and a $12.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James decreased their target price 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. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Patterson-UTI Energy has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $16.17.

Patterson-UTI Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ PTEN opened at $11.34 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $11.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.65. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 52 week low of $9.70 and a 52 week high of $16.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.23, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 2.21.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The oil and gas company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. Patterson-UTI Energy had a net margin of 5.94% and a return on equity of 10.00%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Patterson-UTI Energy will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Patterson-UTI Energy’s payout ratio is 31.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Patterson-UTI Energy

In other news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 187,916 shares of the business’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 sale, the director now directly owns 2,473,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,011,093.47. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Patterson-UTI Energy

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PTEN. Blackstone Inc. bought a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy in the third quarter worth about $483,016,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 74.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,194,132 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $597,807,000 after acquiring an additional 18,495,822 shares during the last quarter. Cerberus Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy in the third quarter worth $188,486,000. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 21,195.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,655,391 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $161,311,000 after purchasing an additional 11,600,658 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 397.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,882,977 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $81,420,000 after purchasing an additional 4,699,682 shares during the period. 97.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.