Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Cuts Stock Holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 116,777 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 1,283 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy were worth $1,261,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PTEN opened at $10.77 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.41. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $9.70 and a 1 year high of $16.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.84, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 2.23. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.42.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The oil and gas company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. Patterson-UTI Energy had a return on equity of 7.58% and a net margin of 4.07%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. will post 0.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be given a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 3rd. Patterson-UTI Energy’s payout ratio is 47.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.50 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research note on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $17.00 to $14.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $15.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Patterson-UTI Energy

In other Patterson-UTI Energy news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 187,916 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.73, for a total value of $2,204,254.68. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,473,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,011,093.47. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Patterson-UTI Energy Profile

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.