Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) Shares Down 6.6% – Here’s Why

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN)’s stock price was down 6.6% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $7.56 and last traded at $7.59. Approximately 1,012,803 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 7,160,651 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.13.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com cut Patterson-UTI Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 12th. Raymond James decreased their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, ATB Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $11.88.

Patterson-UTI Energy Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.42 and a beta of 2.12. The company’s 50 day moving average is $8.13 and its 200 day moving average is $9.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.32.

Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.27%. Patterson-UTI Energy’s payout ratio is -14.61%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Patterson-UTI Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PTEN. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 35.9% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 19,972,894 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $152,793,000 after purchasing an additional 5,275,525 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,435,258 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $118,080,000 after buying an additional 1,352,840 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,980,881 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $68,717,000 after acquiring an additional 478,064 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 14.7% in the 2nd quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 6,069,499 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $62,880,000 after acquiring an additional 778,581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 62.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,683,096 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $58,877,000 after acquiring an additional 2,191,330 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, 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.