StockNews.com Upgrades Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) to Buy

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 31st. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $19.00 to $16.00 in a report on Thursday, June 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a report on Monday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a report on Monday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.57.

Patterson-UTI Energy Trading Up 5.4 %

PTEN opened at $14.91 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $14.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.69. The company has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.25 and a beta of 2.36. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 1-year low of $9.70 and a 1-year high of $19.81.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The oil and gas company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $758.89 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $781.73 million. Patterson-UTI Energy had a return on equity of 21.22% and a net margin of 11.28%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.05 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Patterson-UTI Energy will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Patterson-UTI Energy news, COO James Michael Holcomb sold 8,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.47, for a total transaction of $136,166.94. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 387,925 shares in the company, valued at $6,001,199.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO William Andrew Hendricks, Jr. sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.84, for a total transaction of $2,968,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,886,874 shares in the company, valued at $28,001,210.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO James Michael Holcomb sold 8,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.47, for a total value of $136,166.94. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 387,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,001,199.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 319,564 shares of company stock valued at $4,665,785. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Patterson-UTI Energy

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 2.2% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 212,072 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,283,000 after acquiring an additional 4,464 shares during the last quarter. AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $187,000. Natixis Advisors L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $460,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 223,039 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,453,000 after purchasing an additional 30,250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 601,506 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $9,311,000 after acquiring an additional 9,136 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Patterson-UTI Energy Company Profile

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides contract drilling services to oil and natural gas operators in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Contract Drilling Services, Pressure Pumping Services, and Directional Drilling Services. The Contract Drilling Services segment markets its contract drilling services primarily in west Texas, Appalachia, Rockies, Oklahoma, South Texas, East Texas, and Colombia.