Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) Trading Down 11.1% Following Analyst Downgrade

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)’s share price dropped 11.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday after The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on the stock from $11.00 to $8.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Patterson-UTI Energy traded as low as $5.71 and last traded at $5.83. Approximately 1,127,783 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 8,498,093 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.56.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on PTEN. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Patterson-UTI Energy from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $11.38.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO William Andrew Hendricks, Jr. purchased 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $7.88 per share, with a total value of $197,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,482,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,562,824.96. This trade represents a 1.02 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 230,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.89, for a total transaction of $2,044,700.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,549,081 shares in the company, valued at $13,771,330.09. This represents a 12.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PTEN. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 22,096,553 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $182,518,000 after purchasing an additional 2,123,659 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 89.1% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,954,738 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $140,046,000 after buying an additional 7,989,877 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 9.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,435,258 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $118,080,000 after buying an additional 1,352,840 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 421.0% during the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 10,214,860 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $84,375,000 after buying an additional 8,254,137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 9,636,471 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $79,597,000 after acquiring an additional 1,144,094 shares during the last quarter. 97.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Patterson-UTI Energy Trading Up 3.0 %

The stock has a market cap of $2.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.33 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $7.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.06.

Patterson-UTI Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio is -12.96%.

Patterson-UTI Energy Company 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.