The Goldman Sachs Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) Stock Price

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) had its target price dropped by research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $11.00 to $8.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 38.89% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Raymond James cut shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $11.38.

Patterson-UTI Energy Trading Up 3.0 %

NASDAQ:PTEN opened at $5.76 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.33 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Patterson-UTI Energy has a one year low of $5.12 and a one year high of $12.15. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $7.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.06.

Insider Activity

In other Patterson-UTI Energy news, CEO William Andrew Hendricks, Jr. acquired 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $7.88 per share, with a total value of $197,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 2,482,592 shares in the company, valued at $19,562,824.96. This represents a 1.02 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director James Carl Stewart sold 48,149 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.42, for a total transaction of $357,265.58. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 85,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $634,224.50. This represents 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Patterson-UTI Energy

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

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.