Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) Given New $9.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) had its price objective cut by Morgan Stanley from $10.00 to $9.00 in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the oil and gas company’s stock.

PTEN has been the topic of several other reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Patterson-UTI Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $11.00 to $10.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Raymond James lowered Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $11.54.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Down 2.3 %

PTEN opened at $8.19 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.32 and a beta of 1.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $8.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.20. Patterson-UTI Energy has a fifty-two week low of $7.03 and a fifty-two week high of $12.65.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.91%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s payout ratio is -12.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 230,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.89, for a total value of $2,044,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,549,081 shares in the company, valued at $13,771,330.09. The trade was a 12.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director James Carl Stewart sold 48,149 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.42, for a total value of $357,265.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 85,475 shares in the company, valued at $634,224.50. The trade was a 36.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Patterson-UTI Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PTEN. WFA Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in Patterson-UTI Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 1,443.0% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,441 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 3,218 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 43.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 5,660 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 1,717 shares during the period. 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.