Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. $PTEN Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN) by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,421,945 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 128,992 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 1.17% of Patterson-UTI Energy worth $22,906,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PTEN. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 23.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 14,463,590 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $85,769,000 after purchasing an additional 2,746,159 shares during the period. Sourcerock Group LLC raised its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 109.2% during the second quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC now owns 13,803,775 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $81,856,000 after acquiring an additional 7,205,652 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 3.5% in the second quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 13,238,092 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $78,502,000 after acquiring an additional 453,519 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Patterson-UTI Energy by 1.5% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,710,369 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $33,862,000 after acquiring an additional 82,817 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 4.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,747,463 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $39,024,000 after purchasing an additional 220,422 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.91% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Patterson-UTI Energy

Here are the key news stories impacting Patterson-UTI Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Patterson-UTI reported a narrower-than-expected Q4 loss and revenue that beat estimates; management highlighted stronger Completion Services and lower costs helping results. Q4 results (Zacks)
• Positive Sentiment: The company announced a 25% increase to its quarterly dividend (to $0.10), implying a higher yield (~4.9%) and signaling confidence in free cash flow — a catalyst for income-focused investors. Dividend & capex note (Seeking Alpha)
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised targets and ratings: Stifel lifted its PT to $11 (buy) and RBC raised its PT to $9 (outperform), which can drive buying interest and support the rally. Stifel target raise (TickerReport) RBC note (Benzinga)
• Neutral Sentiment: Patterson-UTI reported January drilling activity: an average of 94 rigs operating in the U.S., a datapoint showing stable operating scale but not a major directional catalyst by itself. January rig count (Access Newswire)
• Neutral Sentiment: Management signaled a 15% CapEx reduction alongside the dividend hike, emphasizing cash-return focus and margin resilience — positive for cash flow but may reduce near-term growth spend. CapEx & dividend details (Seeking Alpha)
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the beat, PTEN remains unprofitable on a GAAP basis (Q4 loss per share) and shows negative net margin/ROE; multi-year profitability recovery is still a work in progress. Q4 loss (Zacks)

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on PTEN. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Patterson-UTI Energy from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Tudor Pickering cut shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $6.00 price target (down from $7.00) on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $6.00 target price (down previously from $7.00) on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Patterson-UTI Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director James Carl Stewart sold 368,254 shares of Patterson-UTI Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.87, for a total value of $2,161,650.98. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 207,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,215,090. This trade represents a 64.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Patterson-UTI Energy Trading Up 6.0%

Patterson-UTI Energy stock opened at $8.66 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.64 and a beta of 0.76. Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $5.10 and a 1 year high of $9.30. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $6.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.64.

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.11) by $0.09. Patterson-UTI Energy had a negative return on equity of 1.50% and a negative net margin of 1.94%.The business had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.13) EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. will post -0.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Patterson-UTI Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This is a boost from Patterson-UTI Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Patterson-UTI Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently -88.89%.

About Patterson-UTI Energy

Patterson-UTI Energy provides a comprehensive suite of onshore contract drilling and pressure pumping services to exploration and production companies in North America. The company’s core offerings include land-based drilling rigs, directional drilling, hydraulic fracturing services, downhole tool rental and well-servicing equipment. By integrating drilling and completion capabilities, Patterson-UTI Energy offers operators a streamlined solution designed to improve operational efficiency and well performance.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Patterson-UTI Energy traces its origins to its founding in 1978 and was later incorporated in Delaware in 1996.