Royal Bank Of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) Stock

Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) had its target price lifted by Royal Bank Of Canada from $8.00 to $9.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the oil and gas company’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s target price points to a potential upside of 3.93% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Patterson-UTI Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $6.00 target price (down from $7.00) on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Tudor Pickering downgraded shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $7.50.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Up 6.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:PTEN opened at $8.66 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.64 and a beta of 0.76. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 1-year low of $5.10 and a 1-year high of $9.30. The company’s fifty day moving average is $6.70 and its two-hundred day moving average 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.11) by $0.09. Patterson-UTI Energy had a negative net margin of 1.94% and a negative return on equity of 1.50%. The business had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.13) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Patterson-UTI Energy will post -0.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Patterson-UTI Energy

In other Patterson-UTI Energy news, Director James Carl Stewart sold 368,254 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.87, for a total transaction of $2,161,650.98. Following the transaction, the director owned 207,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,215,090. This trade represents a 64.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 1.8% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 17,000,602 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $88,065,000 after purchasing an additional 304,718 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 15,599,294 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $80,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,135,704 shares during the period. Sourcerock Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 109.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC now owns 13,803,775 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $81,856,000 after buying an additional 7,205,652 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP raised its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 13,238,092 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $78,502,000 after buying an additional 453,519 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 176.6% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 9,228,022 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $47,801,000 after buying an additional 5,891,956 shares during the period. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Patterson-UTI Energy News Roundup

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)

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.